Ex-Giants star Odell Beckham Jr. at ‘peace’ as he joins Miami Dolphins: ‘I haven’t been the No. 1 in a minute’

Odell Beckham Jr. knows he’s not joining the Miami Dolphins to be their top target.

He’s OK with that.

A three-time Pro Bowler with the Giants, the 31-year-old wide receiver said during his introductory press conference Wednesday in Miami that he’s at peace as he enters his 11th year in the NFL.

“I haven’t been the No. 1 in a minute,” Beckham said. “You can go look at targets. You can go look at anything. That’s not really where I’ve been at, so just understanding your role, and how can you be the very best at that role?”

Beckham this month signed a one-year contract with Miami, joining a high-powered offense engineered by coach Mike McDaniel and headlined by speedy star wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Hill, 30, led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns last year, while Waddle, 25, recorded his third consecutive season with more than 1,000 yards to begin his career.

Beckham, meanwhile, missed the entire 2022 season as he recovered from his second torn ACL in his left knee. He spent 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens, recording 35 receptions on 64 targets for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games.

Accepting a complementary role is not difficult for Beckham at this stage in his career, he said Wednesday.

“It gives you a huge sense of peace,” Beckham said. “I feel like I used to carry a lot of anger or resentment or whatever it was, and now I just feel at peace. You’re just able to train. You’re able to play the game that you love again. You kind of get past all of the business side or whatever could be holding you back. A part of me feels like this is an opportunity for it to be just [about] football.”

Beckham exploded onto the NFL scene with the Giants, hauling in 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2014 en route to Rookie of the Year honors. His jaw-dropping one-handed touchdown catch against the Dallas Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football” that season ingratiated Beckham to a national audience.

Beckham recorded at least 90 catches, 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns in each of his first three seasons. He eclipsed 1,000 yards in four of his five seasons with the Giants.

Then-Giants general manager Dave Gettleman signed the explosive Beckham to a five-year, $95 million extension before the 2018 season, then traded him to the Cleveland Browns less than a year later.

Beckham’s tumultuous Browns tenure included one 1,000-yard season, his first ACL tear and, ultimately, his release in November 2021. He signed with the Los Angeles Rams later that month and caught a touchdown during their Super Bowl victory in February 2022 but tore his ACL again in that game.

After one season with the NFL-best Ravens, Beckham hopes to help another contender in the Dolphins. Beckham said Wednesday he was “very close” to committing to the University of Miami before choosing to follow close friend and fellow wide receiver Jarvis Landry to LSU in 2011.

“I think my favorite thing, speaking on myself, is about resiliency,” Beckham said Wednesday. “Give me the best of the best in the world and put them through what I’ve been through at the highest level, and let me see them rebound and still be here to this day. … Let’s have a great ending to the story.”