Odell Beckham Jr. is one of the best athletes the NFL has ever seen. In his 11-year career, the former wide receiver forced defenses to rewrite their playbooks just to slow him down. Today, his skills earned praise from none other than the head coach of Team USA Flag Football, Jorge Cascudo.
Nearly two years after his last official appearance on the field, OBJ continues to be a spectacle, as he demonstrated this Saturday at Tom Brady’s Fanatics Flag Football Classic.
Beckham played for Wildcats FC in the exhibition tournament held at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Despite the significant rule changes, the former New York Giants star put on a spectacular show.
Despite the Wildcats, captained by Jalen Hurts and coached by Kyle Shanahan, losing the final to Team USA, OBJ made a great impression on the national team’s head coach, Jorge Cascudo.
Beckham is Olympic material
In a press conference after the tournament, Cascudo didn’t hide his admiration for Beckham. “Odell is a great athlete. He made an excellent catch in our first game,” the coach said.
He admitted to being so impressed that he almost offered him a spot on Team USA right then and there.
I almost said, ‘Hey, there’s a spot whenever you’re interested. Come talk to me. We can point you in trials and compete.’
In the first game of the tournament’s Round Robin stage, the former Giants wide receiver made one of his signature one-handed catches over the Team USA defense.
The maneuver made it clear not only that Beckham hasn’t lost his touch, but that he would be a valuable asset to the team competing in Los Angeles 2028, in flag football’s debut on the Olympic program.
What are Beckham’s chances of making Team USA?
Cascudo acknowledged the quality of NFL players, but made it clear that not all of them are immediately suited to flag football.
The quicker adjustment would be the receivers, because they’re just running routes and catching. I think Odell was one of the best.
Tom Brady’s Flag Football Classic is one of the many promotional activities seeking to raise the profile of this variant of football in the lead-up to the Olympic Games.
The NFL is pushing to get some of its players on the team, but as Cascudo said, not all of them will make it, and if anyone has a chance, it’s the legendary OBJ.
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