With the passing of Tuesday’s waiver claim deadline, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is officially a free agent.
So, where to next? Now that he’s no longer a member of the Cleveland Browns, Dianna Russini of ESPN reported earlier Wednesday that Beckham has narrowed his choices down to three teams: The Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers.
During an appearance on Good Morning Football Wednesday morning, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport also suggested those three teams were “among the teams to consider.”
With an announcement coming as early as Wednesday — seriously, could be any minute, any hour, or still a few days away — we thought we’d look at his decision the old-fashioned way: With a pros & cons list.
While only Beckham himself knows his full list of criteria — for example, does he want to be a win-now rental, or a long-term teammate? — we’ve laid out a list of the best reasons for and against each of these three intriguing potential destinations.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Wherever he lands, Beckham is obviously going somewhere he’s wanted, but the Saints’ reported interest in OBJ prior to the NFL’s trade deadline earlier this month makes them a good place to start here in our pros & cons exercise.
Saints: Pros
• According to Rapoport, the Saints “did try to trade for Beckham right before the trade deadline — to my knowledge, the only team to do it.”
• New Orleans is a friendly and familiar fanbase for Beckham, who starred at Louisiana State University (alongside his old pal and now former Browns teammate Jarvis Landry… sigh).
• With top wide receiver Michael Thomas unable to suit up this season due to complications from ankle surgery, the Saints need someone to step into that No. 1 receiving role. Right now, the Saints are a catch-by-committee club with Deonte Harris (323 yards on the season), running back Alvin Kamara (310) and Marquez Callaway (309) splitting targets.
• The Saints are built to win now, and while they’ve had some hiccups and inconsistency this season, they’re currently in position to contend. One win shy of matching Tampa Bay’s 6-2 record, the Saints are sitting in a wild card spot right now. If the playoffs started today, they’d be the sixth seed in the NFC.
• While the Browns’ offensive identity is firmly found in their (very effective) run game, the Saints have long been considered more of an equal-opportunity offence between the ground game and the air — a well-balanced scheme that would be more than appealing to a playmaker like Beckham.
Saints: Cons
• Here’s the thing about the Saints’ balanced attack: The well-balanced playbook is really only as good as the guy executing it on the field. And in New Orleans, that man is… Trevor Siemian. Prior to stepping in during his Week 8 relief effort following Jameis Winston’s departure due to injury, Siemian hadn’t appeared in a game since his single start in 2019 with the New York Jets — a nightmarish start that saw him complete just three passes and suffer two sacks before departing with a season-ending ankle injury. Before that, his last stint as an NFL starter was during the 2017 season when he appeared in 11 games with the Denver Broncos.
• Whether Taysom Hill is considered a 1B or a second-string to Siemian, he’s also largely inexperienced at the position. While the tandem approach is do-able, neither of New Orleans’ options right now are conducive to massive WR success, and questions at the position lead to even more unknowns beyond this season.
• Right now, the Saints sit second-last in pass attempts (237), completion percentage (59.5 per cent) and passing yards on the season (1,623) and last in both completions (141) and passes of 20-plus yards (15). The team’s seventh-ranked 6.8 yards per passing attempt isn’t exactly inspiring for a deep-threat receiver. While all this does point to a need at the receiver position, it also points to a trio of QBs who might not be up to the task.
• Like the Browns, the Saints’ best offensive weapon is in the run game. While Alvin Kamara is more of a dual-threat option than Cleveland’s Nick Chubb (who dominates on the ground), the Saints’ success runs largely through the star RB.
• While the Saints are currently in the playoff picture, as highlighted above, OBJ would be walking into a division housing NFC South King Tom Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champs. Good luck.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Name a star free agent that hasn’t been linked to the Chiefs at some point… we’ll wait.
Chiefs: Pros
• Patrick Mahomes, of course! The fourth-year starter might not be playing up to the standards of his first few years, but anyone who can pull off the kind of no-look passes, sidearm throws, cross-body slings, or precise needle-meets-thread completions like Mahomes can is a WR’s dream.
• Despite struggles this season, the Chiefs are still within reach of both a playoff spot and the division crown.
• Unlike in Cleveland, Kansas City’s offence runs through the air. The team’s 2,616 passing yards are currently the third-most league-wide. The addition of a receiver like OBJ would make this already-dynamic passing game that much more fun.
Chiefs: Cons
• Per reports, the breakdown between Beckham and the Browns was rooted in OBJ’s lack of targets. So, if Beckham is looking to be a team’s top option, it seems unlikely he finds that stage in Kansas City considering the presence of top WR Tyreek Hill and TE Travis Kelce.
• While a Mahomes-led offence means more passes to be caught, feeding Hill and Kelce doesn’t exactly leave many leftovers. There’s a significant drop-off between Hill’s team-topping 772 receiving yards, Kelce’s second-place 628, and the third-ranked receiver in Mecole Hardman, who’s registered 372 yards on the season. Hill sees almost twice the targets Hardman does, with 101 compared to Hardman’s 53 this season.
• Previous attempts to add an offensive weapon haven’t brought success. For example, since signing Josh Gordon this season, the former Browns WR has been targeted just four times in five games.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Short-term, OBJ-to-Green Bay makes a ton of sense as an opportunity to win and drastically up his stock in the process. Long-term, however… that’s a different story.
Packers: Pros
• Catching passes from Aaron Rodgers is surely on every receiver’s wish list.
• Green Bay’s longstanding need for offensive weapons has been well-documented — and that was before top tight end Robert Tonyan suffered a season-ending injury. After WR1 Davante Adams, there’s a serious drop-off.
• If he’s searching for a Super Bowl — and of course he is — his best shot at finding it is in Green Bay, where a playoff spot is all but guaranteed. With a 7-2 record and sitting four wins above the second-place Vikings, no one is challenging the Packers for the division crown. Currently sitting second in the NFC, home-field advantage is also a strong possibility.
Packers: Cons
• Like Mahomes in Kansas City, Rodgers already has his unquestioned No. 1 wide receiver. That title belongs to Davante Adams, and it’s not even close. Adams’ 786 receiving yards on the season is 542 more than WR2 Randall Cobb.
• Sure, the Packers are an intriguing short-term fit, but what about beyond the 2021 season? That’s a gigantic grey area considering all signs point to this season being Rodgers’ last in Green Bay. Anything beyond being a rental in this situation is probably a no-go.
CLEVELAND BRO– kidding! Kind of.
Okay, his time in Cleveland has absolutely and undoubtedly come to an end. But after reviewing his options, it kind of feels like OBJ’s ideal destination is with a team that’s positioned to contend now and in the next several years, boasts one of the league’s best defences and a strong run game to ease the pressure on WRs, has a talented first-rounder at QB and the reigning coach of the year calling the shots, paid him handsomely for his services with long-term job security, and includes his best friend as his teammate. Doesn’t it?
Saints? Chiefs? Packers? Listing pros & cons of Beckham’s possible destinations
Source: Pinas Ko Mahal
0 Mga Komento