According to rumors across the league, the New Orleans Saints are one of the top contenders in the Odell Beckham sweepstakes. After losing Michael Thomas and Jameis Winston for the season, the Saints desperately need to add some talent to their passing attack. Odell Beckham Jr is easily the biggest name on the market, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Kwon Alexander are doing their part to get the three-time Pro Bowler into Louisianna.
Well this certainly solidifies the #Saints interest in Odell Beckham Jr pic.twitter.com/wxOtrTuesE
— Michael Balko (@MichaelBalkoJr) November 9, 2021
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Kwon Alexander Try to Recruit Odell Beckham Jr To Saints
At 5-3, the New Orleans Saints currently hold the sixth seed in the NFC playoff picture. While it’s hard to imagine them winning the division without Winston, it’s entirely possible for this team to earn a wild card spot. The defense is great, and Sean Payton remains one of the best coaches in football. However, you need to score points to win football games, and it’s hard to see the Saints doing much of that with the current offense.
Alvin Kamara is arguably the most dangerous running back in the league, but he can only do so much. Aside from him, this team does not have much in terms of offensive firepower. Beckham is not the player he once was, but if signed, he would easily be the best wide receiver on the team and would play a huge role in New Orleans’ playoff push down the stretch.
For the time being, it appears as though Trevor Semien is going to be the starting quarterback. Taysom Hill might take over at a later time, but Payton appears to be putting his faith in a conventional passing attack. Semien actually has some starting experience and was able to keep Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders happy for a little bit while in Denver. Semien is one of the better backups in the league, and he should be good enough to keep Beckham happy in this offense.
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Saints Aren’t Alone In Pursuing Beckham
Of course, the New Orleans Saints are not the only team interested in acquiring the star receiver. According to reports across the league, the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs are all interested in adding the former Cleveland Brown.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported that the Patriots have reached out to Beckham’s camp, although he adds that talks have been “exploratory”. Objectively speaking, the Saints are probably the underdogs in negotiations. While their record is second only to the Packers, all four of the aforementioned teams have a notably better quarterback situation. Additionally, while Pete Carroll isn’t as good as a coach as Payton, Matt LaFleur, Andy Reid, and Bill Belichick are in that elite tier of coaching.
It sounds like the conversation between Odell Beckham Jr.'s camp and the Patriots was more on the exploratory level. Obviously, several other teams are involved. We'll see how things progress with Beckham and his options from here.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) November 10, 2021
Beckham wants to play for a contender and, at 3-5, it might be too little, too late for the Seattle Seahawks. The Packers, Patriots, and Chiefs, however, both have strong odds of making the playoffs, with Green Bay basically being destined for the postseason. If I were a betting man, I’d rank the teams in order of likelihood as Green Bay, Kansas City, New England, New Orleans, and then Seattle. Of course, only time will tell where Beckham ultimately ends up signing.
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