Odell Beckham Jr. joined an already explosive Miami Dolphins offense this season. He almost looked elsewhere for a peculiar reason.
During Wednesday’s press conference, the wide receiver confessed that he was reluctant to team with Tua Tagovailoa because of the quarterback’s handedness.
“I definitely was a little hesitant at first because he’s a lefty, and I think I shied away from lefties,” Beckham told reporters, per the team transcript. “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 he just throws different. They said the accuracy and the spin, they’re like it’s not really like he’s left-handed.”
Beckham changed his mind when watching film of Tagovalioa, who’s done “a lot of great things” over his college and NFL career.
“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,” Beckham continued. “I looked at myself in the mirror and a place for me and my career. I’ve just seen a lot of opportunity here.”
Observers have questioned Tagovailoa’s arm strength since he entered the league in 2020, but the former No. 5 pick has flourished under head coach Mike McDaniel.
Tagovailoa amassed an NFL-leading 4,624 passing yards last season with 29 touchdowns and the second-most yards per attempt (8.3) behind Brock Purdy among quarterbacks who threw at least 150 passes. Perhaps most importantly, he played every game after sustaining multiple concussions the previous year.
After one season with the Baltimore Ravens, Beckham teams up with Tyreek Hill and Jayden Waddle to form a fierce trio with considerable big-play upside. The 31-year-old is “super excited” about his new home.