Odell Beckham Jr.’s Mike McDaniel reason for joining Dolphins

The Dolphins added a big name on Friday.

On Friday afternoon, the NFL world received a jolt to the senses when it was announced that wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. would be joining the Miami Dolphins following his most recent stint with the Baltimore Ravens, which ended when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game. Beckham now joins a Dolphins squad that had one of the league’s most dynamic offenses for the majority of the 2023 season but ultimately fizzled down the stretch, culminating in a playoff loss to–you guessed it–the Chiefs, that time in the first round of the playoffs.

Some wondered what went into Beckham’s decision to take his talents to South Beach, and if the latest reports are any indication, the presence of Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel factored heavily into the former Pro Bowler’s decision.

“Miami has been talking to Odell for weeks now,” said NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on NFL Live (via NFL on ESPN on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter). “They’ve been trying to secure this deal. The incentive package helped it get over the top this week, but I was told that Odell is really intrigued by the chance of producing with Mike McDaniel. He believes that that head coach will get him the ball. Coming off of the Baltimore year, less than 600 yards, he still has a lot to prove, and talking to people around the league, they believe that if Beckham would embrace being an insider receiver, like a slot receiver type, he could make a killing in this offense. I was told Kansas City, that was appealing to Beckham in the process, Buffalo a little bit as well, but Miami sold him. They were the most persistent throughout this process to get it done.”

How much does Odell have left in the tank?

That’s a question that’s certainly worth asking this point as the former first round draft pick is now on the wrong side of 30 years old and has an extensive injury history, including a torn ACL he sustained during the 2022 Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams.

As previously noted, Beckham didn’t get the opportunity to do a whole lot under a Ravens offense that was run-heavy throughout the year (before bizarrely abandoning that strategy during their loss to the Chiefs during the playoffs).

The Dolphins of course bring a much more diverse offense to the table under the leadership of Mike McDaniel, setting all sorts of records during the opening act of the 2023 season, including dropping 70 points on the Denver Broncos and truly resembling a video game at times.

As Fowler noted in his report, a lot of Beckham’s potential productivity with the Dolphins will hinge on the former star’s willingness to accept a new role that isn’t as a number one wide receiver anymore. It seems that Beckham is reaching the point that comes in every star athlete’s life where his sustainability will depend on his willingness to adapt his game and cut his losses.