There is not a Packers fan on the planet that isn’t abuzz with the idea of Odell Beckham Jr. joining the Green and Gold. After Beckham’s Aaron Rodgers tweet on Sunday, and then Rodgers’ subsequent comments on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, the idea of Green Bay adding an outside star receiver seems more plausible than ever.
Historically, the Packers are an in-house unit. They don’t make midseason trades, and they don’t make splashy wide receiver signings. They draft and develop their guys. But for the first time, one of these rumor mill receivers seems to really make sense. Green Bay has an entire new identity as a team this year. They are built on running and defense and are hoping their passing attack can develop and grow as the season continues.
With Romeo Doubs looking like a breakout candidate and Christian Watson coming along as well, adding Beckham to a room that also features reliable veterans like Cobb and Lazard could be the perfect combination of events. An infusion of talent meeting an upward trajectory of growth.
Of course the Packers aren’t the only team that will be vying for Beckham’s services. OBJ seemed to confirm in a Twitter interaction with Marcus Spears the free agent wide receiver’s top choices seem to be five of the league’s best contenders.
Though it makes a ton of sense to Packers fans, not everyone seems to think Green Bay is the best destination for the free agent receiver. Former Pittsburgh Steeler turned media personality Ryan Clark was on ESPN’s First Take and warned Beckham against choosing the Packers.
“When you come back from an ACL injury, normally you’re not all the way together until you out about a year. And so necessarily asking Odell Beckham Jr. to come back and be a No. 1 in a place like Green Bay, that would be a ton of pressure. We would view him and look at him differently. Teams would gameplan him differently. But what we do know, if he goes to Buffalo, they’ve got game plan to stop number 14 the same way many teams last year in Los Angeles, game plan to stop number 10 and that’s when Odell Beckham Jr. got the proper matchups. That’s when he got one on ones. And a guy like Matthew Stafford who we know only wants to throw the ball to Cooper Kupp understood what Odell Beckham Jr. could do. The thing we learned about Josh Allen in divisional playoff round last year, he gave Davis way for 200.He’ll throw it to the dude that’s open. He’s gonna throw it to the dude with the best matchup. This is a team that’s going to be winning. This is a team that’s going to be in the hunt to win the Super Bowl and they have other weapons offensively and a top tier quarterback, that’s the place to be.”
You can watch the whole segment here:
I’m not saying Clark is completely wrong. It’s not an ideal situation for a receiver of Beckham’s age and injury history to take on the number one role on a Super Bowl contending team midseason. What I am saying is that is not what would take place in Green Bay. This is a receiver room by committee.
Yes, the Packers don’t have Stefon Diggs or Cooper Kupp to draw attention away from Beckham, but he would be a high level talent added to a room featuring four skilled receivers. Stepping onto the field with Allen Lazard and Romeo Doubs as fellow starting receivers, especially given the Packers’ running back situation, is not a bad option at all.
I can totally understand why Josh Allen and the Bills would be Beckham’s number one choice like Von Miller said, but there is no part of me that thinks Green Bay is something Beckham needs to be warned about. This is a Super Bowl contending team that if Beckham returns to anywhere near previous form, he could absolutely put over the edge.
