The 49ers entered the bye at 4-4 after a 31-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week Eight. The 49ers offense unleashed Christian McCaffrey to over 150 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. Even without Deebo Samuel, Kyle Juszczyk, and Jauan Jennings, the offense had its most impressive day, torching the Rams defense. Jimmy Garoppolo went 21-25 for 235 yards and two touchdowns and looked like a different player with McCaffrey.
Entering Week ten against the other team in Los Angeles, the Chargers bring a fun challenge to the 49ers. The 49ers offense will get those three players back against the Chargers and add 2021 rookie sensation Elijah Mitchell back to the field for the first time since Week One. However, the name of the game is to try and find improvements to better help your roster for the long haul.
Enter the player the 49ers must sign, Odell Beckham Jr.
49ers: Who is Odell Beckham Jr?
The New York Giants drafted Odell Beckham Jr in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. Out of LSU, Odell was one of the top receivers in that draft class and found early success in the league. In his first season in New York, Odell had 91 catches for 1,305 yards and a whopping 12 touchdowns. His second season was even better. He finished the year with 96 catches for 1,450 yards and 13 touchdowns, improving in every statistical category. He was also selected to his first all-pro team as the second-team wide receiver.
Odell was becoming a star.
Sadly, injuries hurt his Giants career. Through no fault, Odell started to get injured after his third season when he had 101 catches and made the all-pro second team for the second time. He played in four games in 2017 and only 12 in 2018. He wanted out of New York and was traded to the Cleveland Browns before the 2019 regular season to help Baker Mayfield and try to turn the franchise around in Cleveland.
Odell struggled mightily. It was not a good fit in the Browns heavy run scheme, and he only played in 29 games over two and a half years before he was released. However, his career was revitalized in Los Angeles by the Rams. He had 27 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight games. Those numbers do not scream much, but he was the fourth option for the Rams. Then the playoffs came.
In four games, he had 21 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns, with one of those touchdowns coming in the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately, he had to leave the game due to an injury later diagnosed as a Torn-ACL. Adding even more insult to injury, he became a free agent and missed out on a big payday. However, he has a chance to make that back this season once he signs a contract with a team for the stretch run.
49ers: Why The 49ers Should Sign Him
The 49ers need to sign him. An offense of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, and Jauan Jennings. That is an incredible mass of talent. That would be five pro-bowlers and four all-pros. No team in the NFL could come close to matching that. Odell also brings a fiery nature to him that would fit right in with the team.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan loves Odell Beckham as a player. Just imagine the fireworks the 49ers would have if they added Beckham into the fold. It would make for impressive football and make the team the team to watch throughout the NFL. The 49ers should sign him because he is a deep threat that would force the defense to keep honest and lead Jimmy Garoppolo to work the middle of the field to find secondary targets.
We know that Jimmy is not the greatest deep passer of the football, but he is elite at the middle to intermediate throws. The 49ers could then have Aiyuk and Deebo run deep shots that would allow Jimmy to pivot off of them, find Odell over the middle, and enable him to use his elite yards after the catch ability and make big plays up and down the field. The 49ers pride themselves on YAC, and Beckham would add even more.
49ers: Why It’s Unlikely
It is a no-brainer. However, San Francisco will have competition for him. The four most likely teams were the Rams, Bills, Cowboys, and Packers. The good news is that the Packers and Rams are 3-6 and unlikely to make the playoffs. So that leaves two teams. The Bills and the Cowboys. The Bills because they are 6-2 and have Josh Allen. The Cowboys because Odell’s family are big Cowboys fans and 6-2 in the thick of the wild card race.
The 49ers mass of talent might be enough to win a Super Bowl. Also, Aiyuk and Deebo are the same type of receivers as Odell, which might lead to redundancy. The team might also want to sign a different position to help alleviate some of the injuries suffered throughout the year. Then the last thing is how much money he wants. If he wants too much, San Francisco might not want to pay that contract and will look to keep it in-house.
It would be incredible for the team to sign him. No one would complain if they did. It would make great television and be fun to write about.
I am all for that.