[theramswire.usatoday.com] Jalen Ramsey: Odell Beckham Jr. is top-5 WR, would've been Super Bowl MVP if healthy

Cameron DaSilva
March 29, 2022 10:36 am PT

Odell Beckham Jr. joined the Rams midway through last season and immediately made an impact. He helped replace Robert Woods, who tore his ACL the day after Beckham landed with the Rams. And in the playoffs, he was a playmaker opposite Cooper Kupp.

Jalen Ramsey saw it firsthand, going up against Beckham every day in practice and watching him make plays on Sundays – all the way up to the Super Bowl. Ramsey has always been a fan of Beckham’s game, but after playing on the same team as him last year, he has even more respect for Odell.

During an interview on “The Pivot Podcast,” Ramsey was asked to list his top five receivers in the NFL. He put Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and Deebo Samuel in a tie for first, then followed them up with Beckham at No. 4 and Kupp and Stefon Diggs tied for fifth.

“I definitely got Cooper Kupp (at four). Five might be a little tie, too. I’m gonna go Odell. Actually, I’m gonna go Odell four. And I’m gonna go Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs.

Beckham is still a free agent, primarily because he tore his ACL in the Super Bowl and is now expected to miss about half the 2022 season. The Rams want him back and hope to re-sign him, but the receiver seems to be weighing his options.

Ramsey would love for Beckham to be back in Los Angeles, explaining how much he meant to the offense after being signed in November.

“He meant a lot to the team. He meant a whole lot,” he said. “When you talk about performance, we’re in a performance-based industry, he’s a dog. He really the dude – all the highlights – he’s still that. When you’re a receiver, you do have to have a certain chemistry with your quarterback and offensive coordinator. It’s got to be the right situation for you, especially when you’re on the offensive side of the ball. He hasn’t had that in a little while but he’s still him, for sure. … There ain’t that many that athletic, that twitchy, run good routes, hands, he’s really that one. He brought that juice. In the playoffs, we were getting O the ball early. O was really that igniter.”

Ramsey shares the belief of many others that Beckham would’ve been Super Bowl MVP if not for his knee injury. He had already caught two passes for 52 yards and a touchdown, coming out with a huge performance in the first half.

“In the Super Bowl, O was really the igniter. … If O could’ve kept going that game, O probably would’ve been Super Bowl MVP,” Ramsey continued. “And that ain’t taking nothing away from Cooper, but O was really living like that. He was on another level. And then knowing he was going to be a free agent, too, all of that. It’s like dang, man. I hated it for him, but everything happens for a reason. And because of that, hopefully we can get him back.”

Jalen Ramsey says @obj would have been Super Bowl MVP if he kept going…

Today at noon eastern! Tap in [t.co] @Realrclark25 @OfficialCrowder pic.twitter.com/yndQaYRl63

— Pivot Podcast (@thepivot) March 29, 2022

The Rams already added Allen Robinson this offseason, but they also traded Robert Woods so there’s still room for Beckham on the depth chart. After seeing the spark he provided to the Rams offense last season, they’d be lucky to have him on the team next season, too.