Jalen Ramsey is no stranger to the fine art of the hot take, but the Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback kept a respectful tone when prognosticating what fans should expect in his season-opening showdown with Odell Beckham on Sept. 9.
"Let’s get this out the way right now. [Odell Beckham] is a good receiver," Ramsey told reporters Tuesday after reporting to camp. "We all know that. But you all know me at the same time. Yeah, he’s good, but I’m good, too. If you want to say he’s the best at his position, I’m the best at my position, so we are going to go at it. We are going to give the people a show the first game of the season."
It seems Ramsey is giving respect where it’s due. Beckham is arguably the NFL’s premier wide receiver regardless of the long and arduous rehab he’s endured coming off a season-derailing ankle injury last year. Although it remains to be seen if Beckham will be 100 percent when he lines up against the Jaguars at MetLife roughly five weeks from now, it’s clear Ramsey won’t be taking anything for granted.
"He is going to have some wins, I am going to have some wins," Ramsey said. "I just plan on having more wins. That is the plan I am going to go in there with. I am going to work my ass off to get to that point to, like I just said, not let anybody down. I am sure he is doing that on the other side, too.
"That is what you all asked for as fans of the game, as [fans of] the NFL, everybody. That is what you all asked for. We are going to give it to you, for sure. I know I am."
It’s good to see Ramsey is looking forward to his upcoming face-off with Beckham, and showing some respect at the same time. Sure, he isn’t guaranteeing any victories this time around, but at least he’s promising fans something they’ll crave on football’s first Sunday of 2018 — a battle between two of the NFL’s best players.