Cleveland Browns landing Odell Beckham ranked the best offseason move
By Randy Gurzi
In a Bleacher Report article ranking the top-25 moves made during the 2019 NFL Offseason, the Cleveland Browns came in first with their move to land wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.
It’s hard to say any other team has put in the kind of work the Cleveland Browns have the past two offseasons. General manager John Dorsey was intent on overhauling the roster and has done exactly that.
The current version of the team looks nothing like the one he inherited back in December 2017. While he made a lot of moves in 2018 to make them a competitive roster, it was his work this offseason that makes them look like contenders in the AFC North.
Dorsey landed some big names such as Sheldon Richardson, Morgan Burnett, and Olivier Vernon. Those moves will improve their defense tremendously, but it was their trade for wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. that has generated all the attention.
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Landing him from the New York Giants has excited the fanbase but is also getting praise from members of the media. For example, Gary Devenport of Bleacher Report ranked the top 25 moves this offseason and has the trade for Beckham as the best move made in the league.
"“It’s not just that the Browns acquired arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL in the prime of his career. It’s what the Browns gave up to get him—the 17th overall pick (which would up being Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence), a third-round pick (Old Dominion edge-rusher Oshane Ximines) and safety Jabrill Peppers, a first-round pick in 2016 who hasn’t lived up to that draft pedigree.There isn’t a general manager in the league who wouldn’t make that deal 10 times out of 10. Okay, maybe one.” — Davenport, Bleacher Report"
Of course, the one GM who wouldn’t make that trade that Davenport refers to is Dave Gettleman. The New York shot caller has received a lot of criticism for moving Beckham just one year after signing him to a high-priced extension.
While it’s hard to justify his desire to move OBJ, the Browns addition makes a lot of sense. They found their franchise quarterback in Baker Mayfield last year but he didn’t have that No. 1 target who could make something out of nothing.
Beckham gives him that which will help the second-year quarterback take his next step as a pro. Not only that, but everyone else on offense will get less attention now that No. 13 will be out there drawing double — and at times triple — coverage.
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It’s hard to argue against the points Davenport makes here. OBJ’s acquisition was huge and should make Cleveland a team to watch in 2019.