1-on-1 With Odell Beckham Jr. | Baltimore Ravens

Ravens fans, I'm very excited to introduce you to the newest member of the team, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Odell, congratulations, welcome to Baltimore, thank you, welcome, happy to be here, so you and the Ravens have been talking for a while for a while now. At the end of last season, what did you learn about the organization during that time and what determined your decision to come here and join the Ravens? um you know, I've seen this team from far and near, you know, being in the AFC North and uh, it was a team that's just built to win, wins the tough games, you know they've got a great team and you know , obviously, that coach Harbaugh is a great coach and Emirates for him from a long way away and you know everything went well.

I know I was in a different place in my life where I was very open and receptive and I never expected to end up here and it was what you know what it's called and the doors that opened and it seemed to be everything I needed to see, so I'm excited with the opportunity. I'm ready to start working. I'm happy to be here. You know you and quarterback Lamar Jackson have spoken highly of each other for years. You know it from a distance. I go back to 2018. you try him, he tweeted during the draft, he's one of the most real things I've ever seen, tell me about your relationship and the friendship you guys have built, yeah, and it's definitely been more from afar than you know .

I always just kicked it or did something like that, but my favorite quarterback growing up was Mike Vick and he gave me a lot of flashes of that. If he were left-handed, I think we would all see him even more, but simply tremendous. Tremendous quarterback talent, um and just someone who you know, I hope I get the opportunity to play and catch passes from um, you know, I looked up to him from the farm for a long time and obviously he's done very well in the NFL. , what is it? This week has been like that for you.

I'm sure your new teammates have been reaching out to your new teammates on social media or texting just to connect and welcome them to the team. Yeah, it's definitely been a world where some guys have reached out, but Um, it's crazy, everything you know happened so fast and I feel like that's life, you know, you never know what to expect or how things are going to go. things and, um, it just worked as is. I'm supposed to feel like when you sit down and open your heart to whatever's supposed to be in your life, you know it's going to walk through those doors and this is exactly what walks through the door, so I'm excited, so when you look back at the past year, you've seen the ups and downs, you win the Super Bowl but of course in the process you tear your ACL, four days later you welcome your son and then you go through this free agency. process over the last year, what have you learned about yourself as a person and as a player over the course of the last 14 months?

I think you know when it's all said and done my story won't be so much about you know a trick or you know all the other things that people like to talk about and I think it will be talked about uh resilience um and I feel like you know whether to put someone in my situation and put the best guy for the shortest guy and um, I don't know who would still be standing after all the things I've been through, you know, on a day to day basis and especially the surgery and having both knees bandaged. and you have a four or five day old child at the time and you're just trying to find my way back, you know, in the field again after you reach the pinnacle of your dream and you know it disappears.

I would never expect it, so I definitely think resilience would be - you know the story of my story at the end and I'm excited about the next chapter, excited to get back on the field. I mean, I had to sit there and watch for a whole year, everyone knows it's good to have fun and, uh, I feel like you know it's my turn to have fun. We all saw the clips of you training for NFL teams recently last month. You look good in those clips and that training, how was it? This process has been in terms of ACL recovery and when did you start to feel good?

I'm back to myself and where do you feel physically now? I mean it was hard, it was harder this time because you know when when you go through the ACL for the second time and again it's the Super Bowl you couldn't finish the Super Bowl it was the dream you wanted um it took me longer you know get it I came out of the soak and sick phase and got back to work and um I remember before training I was still, you know, I was still getting back to how far along I am and um. I just put it together and prepared and that was like, you know, knowing that I said five months into the season, so it's a great place to be then, but it's nowhere near where I'll be, you know, in September. starts for the Ravens to make offensive coordinators Todd Monkin, someone you know well and recently spoke highly of you, talked about loving your work ethic, loving your competitiveness, what can you tell us about what a Todd Monkin offense will be like? and how excited you are to be a part of that, well, you know we had a run-in in Cleveland and he was a guy that you know we clicked with and did the best we could in a situation that just wasn't known. anyone at this point, I mean, at that point it just wasn't the best of situations, so I think if you look at it, you have to look at the success that he had at Georgia and understand that you know who he has at quarterback from time to time. . what they were doing there and how many points they scored and how much offense they produced and just being ready to have some fun.

I think he definitely knows what he's doing. He's a guy I have a lot of respect for, so I'm excited about that too, what do you want to bring to this offense? um, fun touchdowns, leadership, passion for safety, passion, I think passion is a big part of my game, um, and just that desire to win, you know, I know, I know nobody wants to do it. lose, everyone wants to win, but really, deep down, how bad do you want it? How deep will you dig to get it? um we have to win and that's the most important thing in the leadership piece, you're walking into a receivers room a lot of times. "There's no doubt that Rashad Bateman will be a big part of this offense and he's someone who has talked about you and admired you from afar not only in terms of the player that you are, but everything that you are." I also got to know myself in the game off the field, what do you want to impart to these young players when you land here in Baltimore? uh, you know, Rashad is actually someone that I trained with in Arizona, that I met with, that I hung out with so much.

It's a little surreal that you know that on the same team, and even when I was the young guy, there were still people in the room that were attracted to me and looked at me to see what I was doing and now I'm the older guy and people. It comes up and it's like, oh, I saw you in middle school or high school, you just know it's crazy to hear, but I think I know my role and how to take that on and how to show them how to do it. be a professional, you know little tips, techniques and things that I have learned throughout my career.

I just know how I can help in that aspect and I know they're watching, so I have to be the one to set the tone and lead. The example can't just be, you know, not practicing what I preach and last year, Dale, when you look at this season, you will soon be taking the field at mgx stadium, what are your hopes and expectations for this year? I mean, I think it's Just like everyone else, you know the only goal is to win the Super Bowl and I know to go to the Los Angeles Rams and win the Super Bowl and now you know how it tastes and I would love to. of us have another um excited to join the flock excited about the phone we're about to have man let's go ahead and win games and get another awesome ring add another Lombardi trophy It would probably be very kind so we're excited to Do you have here ?

Thank you very much for the time. Yes sir. Absolutely.