Odell Beckham Jr., son of Minnesota preps star, can be happy now, Lombardi Trophy or not

Looking for a local angle in the Super Bowl?

You could do a lot worse than Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham's mother is Heather Van Norman, who was born in Windom, Minn., and became a track star while leading Windom High to state titles in 1987 and '88.

She committed to the University of Minnesota before transferring to Louisiana State. Odell was born in Baton Rouge in 1992.

Beckham became a football star at LSU and eventually a mentor to Vikings star Justin Jefferson. In his first three years in the NFL, he looked like the closest thing we have seen to Randy Moss, producing big numbers while making unfathomable catches with the Giants.

He also became symbolic of the modern diva receiver, taking a boat trip in Florida before his first NFL playoff game, and throwing a few fits on the sideline. What happened to Beckham is that the reputation he was stuck with while young was further damaged by his proximity to mediocre quarterbacks.

Playing when healthy and with Eli Manning in his prime, Beckham averaged 1,374 yards and 12 touchdown catches over three seasons. Playing with Manning at the end of his career, or other Giants quarterbacks, and the Browns' Baker Mayfield, Beckham went into sharp decline, and he didn't seem very happy about it.

He is one of the most talented players in the NFL. If you watch the games rather than relying on raw statistics, you saw that he is always open, that he remains an explosive athlete, and that most of the quarterbacks he has played with either couldn't get him the ball or didn't want to get him the ball.

When the Browns played the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium this season, Beckham was constantly open, and sometimes wide open on deep patterns. Mayfield "targeted'' Beckham seven times. Beckham caught two for 27 yards.

Mayfield was awful that day. Most of his throws to Beckham were uncatchable, and there were a handful of times he looked directly at an open Beckham, then threw elsewhere or took a sack.

If I were Beckham, I would have been unhappy, too.

At midseason, the Browns released Beckham and he soon signed with Rams. After reportedly considering the Packers, he picked a team where he was guaranteed of being nothing better than the fourth receiver, behind Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and the emerging Van Jefferson.

In six games with the Browns, Beckham was targeted 34 times. He produced 17 catches for 232 yards and zero touchdowns.

In eight games with the Rams in the regular season, while learning the system and adjusting to different roles, Beckham was targeted 48 times, producing 27 catches, 305 yards and five touchdowns.

In the postseason, Beckham has been targeted 23 times. He has caught 19 passes for 236 yards and a score.

In 11 games with the Rams, he has 46 catches for 541 yards and six touchdowns, even while playing with the receiver who led the league by far in targets: Kupp.

Kupp was targeted 223 times this season. The second-most targeted receiver? Tyreek Hill, with 187.

The Rams are 8-1 in their last nine games, including playoffs, and without Beckham there is no guarantee that they would be playing in the Super Bowl.

He had seven touchdowns in 28 games with the Browns.

He has six touchdowns in 11 games with the Rams.

The Rams read Beckham and his situation accurately.

When the Browns move on from Mayfield, they should regret having moved on from Beckham.