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Odell Beckham Jr. will make his long-awaited Cleveland Browns debut next Sunday when the Browns play host to the Tennessee Titans in the season opener, and everyone in Cleveland is on pins and needles waiting to explode.
The Browns had a very busy offseason in which they made a myriad of moves, but none were bigger than the acquisition of Beckham, whom they acquired via trade with the New York Giants back in March.
Widely considered one of the best wide receivers in football, Beckham is expected to bring a different dimension to a Cleveland offense that was already showing significant strides last season with Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry.
The Browns didn't get Beckham to just get a little better; they got him to reach the next level, a level they haven't reached since the 2002 campaign, the last time they made the playoffs.
But it's not just about talent and production with Beckham; it's about all of the glitz and glamour that comes with it, and that's not necessarily a good thing, particularly for a person who doesn't know how to handle it.
And let's be real: Beckham did not handle his fame well in New York. He can blame the Giants organization all he wants, but the fact of the matter is that Beckham's behavior, both on and off the field, was not conducive to a winning environment, which was why New York traded the uber-talented wide out not even one full year after signing him to a six-year contract extension.
If Beckham truly wants to succeed in Cleveland, then he is going to have to be open to change, and we'll probably get a good idea of just how much Beckham has changed (if he's changed at all) the first time the Browns face adversity.
Will that be as soon as Week 1? Maybe. The Titans have a ferocious defense and were one game away from making the playoffs last year, so they are not exactly pushovers.
It's also not like there isn't a potential for personalities to clash here, as Mayfield is brash and abrasive in his own right, and you have to wonder if he will rub Beckham the wrong way at some point if he berates him for messing up a route or for not catching a pass.
But in terms of production? We know what Beckham brings to the table.
So long as he is healthy, he is an incredible talent who should rack up 1,000 yards in his sleep, even with another Pro Bowl wide receiver in Landry playing alongside of him.
I expect fireworks from Beckham in his debut, and of the good kind. He'll make some extraordinary plays, both in terms of hauling in impossible catches and doing work after the catch. He'll exhort the crowd. He'll do things a Browns fanbase that hasn't seen any type of success in nearly two decades simply isn't accustomed to.
Make no mistake: Beckham should drastically improve Cleveland's offense, and that should be on full display next Sunday. The question is, how long before the first incident?
