Chomps
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- Mar 18, 2019
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The Browns have the best 1-2 rushing punch in the NFL. Nick Chubb, who finished second in the league in rushing last season, currently ranks fourth with 184 yards. Kareem Hunt, who won the rushing title as a rookie, is tied for eighth with 158 rushing yards.
Where does that leave receiver Odell Beckham Jr.? Facing the reality that he’s probably not “going to kill it” this season as he declared this offseason was his goal.
“For me, one of my biggest growths has come in acceptance in a sense and for me knowing it’s probably not going to be that kind of season [with huge numbers],” Beckham said on a video call Thursday, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “Like I always say, my goal is always going to be my goal, and I don’t feel like I’m ever going to fall short of it. Like I said, learning and acceptance, so you set new goals.”
Beckham topped the 1,000-yard mark in 2019, with 1,035 yards, but he scored only four touchdowns. He did not make the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season.
He has seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown through two games this season.
Beckham, though, is not complaining. He said the Michael Jordan documentary that he watched during quarantine helped him develop a new mindset.
“Having a game within a game, working on a release during a run game or working something else, a new goal — aside from winning always,” Beckham said. “Nick Chubb needs to be the No. 1 rusher in the league or Kareem, too. You have two legitimate No. 1 backs in the backfield, and our team is very, very, very good at running the football, so you have to play to your strengths. Then I think you learn where you fit in and where you’re able to make your plays and how you can help the team.”
The Browns didn’t trade for Beckham to turn him into a blocker, which is why there is so much speculation about his future in Cleveland. But for now, Beckham insists he’s fine with whatever the Browns ask of him.
That likely means more blocking as the Browns rank 28th in passing with 193.5 yards a game and second in rushing at 176.5.
“I think a lot of my growth came in acceptance, acceptance of life and acceptance of things and just knowing that’s what it’s going to be and finding a way to create that block that springs (Chubb) or whatever it is to help us win,” Beckham said.