The Kansas City Chiefs did not end up factoring in the Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes — at least, not during the final hours.
After OBJ agreed to terms with the Baltimore Ravens, SNY’s Connor Hughes reported that “Odell Beckham Jr. called the [New York] Jets last night [on April 8] & gave them a chance to match the offer he got from the Ravens, per sources.” In other words, it was a two-horse race for the big-name wide receiver, and neither of them was the Chiefs.
Miami Dolphins playmaker Tyreek Hill, formerly of KC and still a current AFC challenger of the Ravens, reacted to the news.
OBJ to the ravens clutch ✌🏿
“OBJ to the ravens clutch✌🏿,” Hill tweeted in what felt like approval. The comment had 3,000 likes and nearly 250,000 views in a little over six hours.
Although Beckham signed outside of the division for both KC and Miami, he’ll remain inside the AFC conference. And like Hill, the Chiefs could see OBJ in the postseason — if not sooner.
Chiefs Kingdom Debates WR Worry Level After Odell Beckham Jr. News
USA Today Chiefs Wire’s Charles Goldman led the discussion on Beckham after the news.
“No shot the Chiefs were anywhere near ‘in’ on OBJ at this number [$15 million plus incentives],” Goldman told fans. One aggravated KC supporter quickly replied: “We’ve got the worst WR room in the NFL and Veach does not care.”
Goldman did respond to this comment, voicing: “They’ve got No. 15 and No. 87. That’s all that matters. They’ll get by.”
It’s true, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce appear to be the gifts that keep on giving for head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach, but is it fair to put all the pressure on those two assets?
Another fan got in on this debate too, arguing: “Imagine how much easier the road to the SB would be with a top 10, hell even top 15 WR room tho.”
Again, Goldman had a retort. “Sure, but it doesn’t happen overnight,” he explained. “People act like the team hasn’t made ANY investments there. [Skyy] Moore, [Kadarius] Toney, MVS [Marquez Valdes-Scantling] all should see tangible improvement in 2023. They still have the draft to build. They’ll have more chances to add ahead of the season/during the season if need be.”
Beckham ended up getting paid well beyond the Chiefs’ means, but his signing doesn’t guarantee that KC is content at WR. Veach added a new toy for Mahomes last week in Richie James, and most expect that one or two rookies will enter the fold in the draft as well.
The only question is — are the Chiefs too young and inexperienced at the position? The case can be made that they are, but fans and analysts also had similar conversations in 2022.
Chiefs WR Justyn Ross Continues to Gain Attention on Twitter
Speaking of wide receivers, don’t forget second-year pass-catcher Justyn Ross. The former Clemson product has been all over social media this spring, and another clip of Ross surfaced on April 10.
Coach Steph Brown shared the training video on Instagram, and Arrowhead Live promptly spread it around on Twitter.
Another Justyn Ross Clip
“The guys been workin,” Brown captioned with Ross’ Instagram tagged underneath.
In the video, Ross runs a crisp corner route with a nice cut outside and a sideline grab at the end of it. The former collegiate star’s comeback tour should be an exciting storyline to watch this summer.
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Ex-Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill Comments on Odell Beckham Jr. Signing