Getty Highly coveted free agent Odell Beckham Jr. is reportedly weighing his options.
When it was first announced that the Cleveland Browns would be releasing Odell Beckham Jr., it felt like a lot of factors were standing in the way of the Kansas City Chiefs becoming his next destination.
Of course, once he cleared waivers that all went by the wayside. At this point, Beckham himself will be the deciding factor in where he ends up. Reports have indicated that five finalists remain.
- Chiefs
- Green Bay Packers
- New Orleans Saints
- New England Patriots
- Seattle Seahawks
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport breaks it all down below, explaining that the final word from OBJ’s camp could still take “a few days.”
From @NFLTotalAccess: The Odell Beckham Jr sweepstakes may take a while… The latest from me and @KimJonesSports 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Rapoport noted that GM Brett Veach and the Chiefs “have never shied away from adding despite the salary cap crunch they’re in.”
ALL the latest Chiefs news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Chiefs newsletter here!
Are the Chiefs Now Favorites to Land OBJ?
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Chiefs may have emerged as the favorites sometime late last night on November 10. He wrote:
At one point on Wednesday afternoon, the general vibes pointed to the Saints as the team that would land receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Late Wednesday afternoon, that changed.
The prevailing chatter is pointing to the Chiefs as the place where Beckham will land.
Stop the presses, pointing to the Chiefs? When did this happen? Florio did make sure to add that “it’s not done until it’s done. And if/when the notion that the Chiefs are the favorite takes root, maybe someone else will make a more serious run at securing his services.”
Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes recently gave their thoughts on the possibility of the franchise adding Beckham.
Hunker down Arrowhead nation, it doesn’t appear that OBJ will make his choice in time for Week 10 but he could be on the field as soon as Week 11 if all goes well. Florio believes that the superstar playmaker will come to a decision based on several factors “from number of touches to the amount of money to the quality of quarterback to an opportunity to chase a title to the ability to lay the foundation for a free-agency payday in March.”
Follow the Heavy on Chiefs Facebook page, where you can weigh in on all the latest KC-related daily content, analysis, features and more!
Breaking Down the Finalists
Based on Florio’s assessment, certain teams do seem to have the leg up in the OBJ sweepstakes. Here is a breakdown of the factors above with bold font meaning a team has the advantage in a category, red means they have a major disadvantage.
| Chiefs | Packers | Saints | Patriots | Seahawks | |
| Number of Touches | Weapon 3 behind Hill/Kelce | Becomes WR2 | WR1 | WR1 | WR3 behind Metcalf/Lockett |
| Financial Space | $2.069M | $4.034M | $1.098M | $2.508M | $11.973M |
| Quality of Quarterback | Patrick Mahomes | Aaron Rodgers | Trevor Siemian & Taysom Hill | Mac Jones | Russell Wilson (soon) |
| Chance at Super Bowl? | Yes | Yes | Unclear | Unclear | Most Likely |
| Securing Future | Less pressure (spark plug) | Less pressure (spark plug) | WR1 potential, pressure high | WR1 potential, pressure high | Unclear role (auxiliary option) |
Diving in deeper, Kansas City presents a low-pressure scenario where Beckham could prove that he’s still the dynamic weapon that can spark an offense. He would have a top-tier quarterback and a chance at a title but there’s less money to go around and he would not be the top target for Mahomes.
The Packers are the most similar situation to KC, with slightly more cap space to fatten the offer and a larger role in the offense with Robert Tonyan out for the season.
New Orleans and New England offer the most touches and the greatest opportunity for OBJ to prove he can lead an offense, but they also offer the least experience at QB and no guarantee of Super Bowl contention. Neither have a ton of money available either.
As for Seattle, they have the cap space and the signal-caller but they don’t have a major role in the offense available unless Beckham leapfrogs Tyler Lockett, or the staff begins utilizing more three-receiver sets.
There’s no clear answer here but the Kansas City and Green Bay do provide safer options in proven offenses. It’ll be squarely on the shoulders of the polarizing wide receiver to find the location that suits him best, however. Stay tuned!