Odell Beckham on joining Dolphins speedy WR corps: 'I got to go get back on the track'

Odell Beckham is once again in a new home, and this time, he knows the competition in-house is stiff.

“I got to go get back on the track, I guess, for a second, because there’s some speed down here on this team,” Beckham, one of the newest Miami Dolphins, said Wednesday, via team transcript. “I’ve never shied away from competition or anything like that. I just see — coach (Mike McDaniel) and I were talking about it. He was saying that on third downs, [Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle] they were getting a lot of doubling both of them. There’s just a lot of room for opportunity looking at it.

“I think that it will be a great matchup. I think we all have different skillsets, but all the same skillsets in one — all people who make plays. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity.”

Beckham arrives in Miami with demonstrated experience finding his niche. He did so in Baltimore in 2023, catching 35 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns, his most yards gained with one team in a single season since his last 1,000-yard campaign (2019 with Cleveland).

Though he’s now 31 years old and no longer the superstar who once struck fear in the hearts of opposing defenses, Beckham should find opportunity in Miami as the third option behind Hill and Waddle. And even at his age, his athletic nature fits the profile Miami has established at the position.

Beckham said he chose Miami because of McDaniel, and after initial concerns with left-handed quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa, too.

“It kind of reminds me of a place where I had a lot of success at as far as the Giants and timing and all those things he talks about and preaches,” Beckham said of McDaniel. “He was speaking football.”

As for Tagovailoa, Beckham polled those who have experience playing with the Alabama product and 2023 NFL passing yards leader. That, plus the surrounding cast, was enough to sell the veteran on moving to South Florida.

“I definitely was a little hesitant at first, because he’s a lefty and I think I shied away from lefties,” Beckham explained. “But now that I think about it, I’ve been throwing with Jarvis Landry since I was 15 years old. One of my trainers is left-handed.

“They said (Tagovailoa) just throws different. They said the accuracy and the spin, they’re like it’s not really like he’s left-handed. Just watching his film, there’s a lot of great things that he’s been doing. He did it at Alabama, did it here with the Dolphins. Like I said, I’ve just seen an opportunity when I really watched the film, when I really sat down and didn’t look at a destination. I looked at myself in the mirror and a place for me and my career. I’ve just seen a lot of opportunity here.”

Beckham’s greatest problem over the last four seasons hasn’t been ability, but health. He simply hasn’t stayed on the field or been medically ready to play long enough to make a difference. After playing in 14 games last season for Baltimore, though, things are looking up for the former LSU star.

He probably wasn’t going to find a situation more conducive to success than in Miami, home of the NFL’s top offense in 2023. We’ll see if he can capitalize on the opportunity.