Joe Haden Plans to Shadow Odell Beckham Jr. When Browns Face Steelers and That's a Problem
By Sean Facey
For the first time in what feels like ages, the Steelers and Browns seem destined to produce some competitive football games this year. Both teams have quality rosters with plenty of talent heading into the 2019 season.
With that being said, Pittsburgh might be in for a little bit of trouble in the secondary during those battles. Cornerback Joe Haden plans to shadow newly-minted Cleveland wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and that almost certainly will prove to be a problem out on the gridiron.
Joe Haden just said on the Rich Eisen Show he'll shadow Odell Beckham Jr. when the Steelers face the Browns this season.
— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) July 22, 2019
Not a huge surprise, just confirmation.
Haden is going to be tested and then some handling a guy like Odell Beckham Jr. While he's had success covering the likes of AJ Green, receivers with more explosiveness have wreaked havoc on him.
OBJ's speed is undeniable, and it'll no doubt give him a massive advantage over Haden. Going man-to-man is borderline suicide for the Steelers defensive back. He's just not going to be able to keep up, and that's going to manifest itself both in the box score and on the scoreboard.
Joe Haden says him and Odell were supposed to do some one-on-ones this offseason, but that got nixed with them playing twice this season. #Steelers
— Steelers Depot (@Steelersdepot) July 22, 2019
In a down year in 2018, Beckham Jr. finished with 305 yards after the catch. Considering he only played 12 games, that should be enough to consider not putting Haden one-on-one with Beckham for the upcoming season.
Don't be surprised if things get ugly quick when quarterback Baker Mayfield decides to keep exploiting that weak spot of a matchup until the Steelers change their gameplan.
And don't even get us started on Jarvis Landry entering the equation.