It’s been a while since we did this dance…
When Odell Beckham Jr. is available, he’ll always be linked to Kyle Shanahan. Beckham has had success in a couple of Shanahan-protege offenses under Kevin Stefanski and Sean McVay. We saw what OBJ meant to the Rams last year during their Super Bowl run.
For this potential marriage to have a chance, San Francisco has to have money to pay Beckham Jr. Per Over the cap, the Niners have just over $5.9 million in cap space.
OBJ has been screenshotted on social media, saying that he knows his worth and the Rams didn’t offer him a fair deal. I imagine he’ll sign with a playoff contender come the second half of the season. The question will be whether Beckham Jr. would be willing to take a backseat to someone else or if he’s looking to “be the guy.”
For teams like the Packers or Ravens, he’d be WR1. On the other hand, the Chiefs have Travis Kelce, and the Bills have Stefon Gilmore, But what about the 49ers? There’s Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk
There are already plenty of mouths to feed. So much so that it comes off as if someone isn’t getting enough targets. Let’s take Aiyuk as an example. During his press conference Wednesday, Shanahan said Aiyuk played his best game of the season against the Panthers and spoke about how if the team had done a better job of getting the BA the ball, his perception would be a lot different.
ESPN listed the 49ers as a wild card for Beckham’s services:
Why he fits: The 49ers are a wild card because of the limited pass-game volume and two catch-and-run players already on the roster (Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk).
In a heavily defined throwing offense, however, coach Kyle Shanahan could scheme Beckham on play-action targets, and OBJ’s route quickness would give quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo a stellar third-down target. — Bowen
Why the 49ers make sense: As one AFC scout pointed out to me, this fit depends on how the 49ers really feel about Aiyuk. Is he the explosive No. 2 receiver San Francisco needs? Or is he still an enigma?
“He’s a good player, but I’m not sure he’ll ever fully realize his potential,” the scout said.
Rumors persisted a few years ago about Beckham wanting to wear the gold and scarlet. And because the 49ers decided to wait to pay Nick Bosa, they should have more cash available, sitting on a reasonable $6.6 million in cap space. — Fowler
If you think Jauan Jennings is a strong target for Garoppolo, OBJ will make the offense nearly unstoppable on third down. I agree that volume may be a concern, but how you feel about Aiyuk is independent. This is about adding as many good players as you can on the way to a Super Bowl run. Odell is better than any third option you have, and it’s not particularly close.
The one concern would be determining how OBJ fits into the locker room. When the 49ers went out and traded for Emmanuel Sanders ahead of the 2019 trade deadline, Sanders brought veteran leadership and showed the young Niner wideouts how to be a pro. If San Francisco feels they’ll get the same type of mentorship off the field from Beckham Jr., then the decision to sign him should be a no-brainer.
Also, you can benefit from his success by turning his one-year contract into a comp pick next off-season. While it may not seem like much, the 49ers have had success turning Day 3 picks into valuable contributors via trade. The most obvious example is Laken Tomlinson, while the most recent is Charles Omenihu.
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