With the Cowboys signing T.Y. Hilton, it’s worth reviewing the remaining teams vying for Odell Beckham Jr. ahead of the 2022 NFL Playoffs.
Odell Beckham Jr. is the free agent wide receiver holding all the cards this season, resulting in a scramble by the NFL’s top teams to land OBJ for a playoff power-up.
Beckham knows it, too — that’s why he’s apparently made it clear he’s uninterested in playing for the remainder of the regular season. It makes sense, as it means he’ll have a better idea of which NFL team has the best chance of making the Super Bowl with OBJ on the roster. Also, it’ll limit his chance of incurring an unnecessary injury, which is a crucial factor for someone coming off a costly ACL tear.
Beckham isn’t a fit with every NFL team, especially since less than half the league will make the playoffs, and many are set at the wide receiver position. Still, there are teams that could greatly benefit from signing OBJ, even if they have to wait all the way until the playoffs.
Odell Beckham Jr. Power Rankings: Ranking 5 Teams That Could Sign OBJ
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t been listed as one of the franchises courting Beckham, but if Tom Brady and the Bucs actually win the NFC South, they could benefit from OBJ’s talents.
As of now, the Bucs wide receiver corps is relatively healthy, but the past season has proven that this can change in an instant. The Bucs have been missing some of their top players in key games, including Mike Evans, Julio Jones and Chris Godwin. Although all three played in the Bucs’ latest loss in San Francisco, this is a team that could always use depth at the position.
Plus, Beckham has made it abundantly clear that he’s a massive Tom Brady fan — remember the GOAT cleats? It’s a long shot, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility for Brady to call up Beckham the way he called up Julio during the offseason.
4. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys rank a little higher than the Bucs because they actually have hosted OBJ in the building, but by the looks of things, it seems they’ve already moved on by signing T.Y. Hilton right now.
It’s a solid move for the Cowboys to sign another free agent deep threat, and while Hilton doesn’t have the same buzz around his career the way OBJ has, he’s still an elite wide receiver who can help the team right now.
It’s no secret that Hilton suffered with the Colts’ carousel of quarterbacks in recent years, so being able to unlock his true potential with Dak Prescott means that the NFL likely hasn’t even seen the best T.Y. Hilton has to offer.
Hilton is likely asking for much less for OBJ, and he’s willing to help the team get to the playoffs rather than riding off their run once it’s started. Also, it could be a shorter commitment than the multi-year deal Beckham hoped to land.
Of the teams he’s spoken with, they’re the least likely to sign him at this point.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
With Cowboys seemingly out of the OBJ Sweepstakes, it seems another team has entered the fray: the Kansas City Chiefs.
Per Jordan Schultz, OBJ has stayed in touch with the team since visiting there last year during his previous free agency tour.
Just because it didn’t work out for him then doesn’t mean it wouldn’t now, because at the moment, the Chiefs are the AFC team to beat — again.
The Buffalo Bills have become recent archrivals for a reason, and the fact that they are fierce competition for free agents sweetens the deal for an OBJ signing. The Chiefs could steal him away from Buffalo, as they do have a Lombardi and AFC West titles to back up their offer. With Beckham looking at the years ahead, it’s tough to imagine another team with the same projected consistency as the Chiefs.
At the same time, the Chiefs don’t need a wide receiver the way other teams do on this list. Although Mecole Hardman is out, the team still has JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Skyy Moore, with an injured Kadarius Toney expected to return at some point.
Still, anything could happen between now and then, and the Chiefs may want OBJ for the playoffs, even if it’s to throw off opponents and bank on Beckham for the next few years.
2. New York Giants
An OBJ-Giants reunion may have seemed far-fetched a few years ago, but in the time since then, a great deal has changed for the player and the organization that drafted him.
The Giants are now led by Brian Daboll and managed by Joe Schoen, which has transformed the team in a matter of months. New York got off to a hot 5-1 start, only to fizzle out with a current 7-5 record.
Arguably, the Giants need him more than any other team he’s spoken with thus far. They currently have three wide receivers on IR, and their top wideouts are Darius Slayton and Kenny Golladay — and it’s not Gollday with Matthew Stafford, either.
There’s a great deal of familiarity that could work well for an OBJ reunion, and narrative-wise, a return that transforms the Giants into a contender would make Beckham an even bigger New York legend.
The main concern here is whether or not the Giants will make the playoffs this year. It’s still possible — that’s how terrible the NFC is — but if they don’t, it may turn Beckham towards a team that has a present and a future.
1. Buffalo Bills
Maybe the equation is this simple: Odell Beckham Jr. will sign with the team that’s been favored to win the Super Bowl all year. The Buffalo Bills could definitely use Beckham Jr. alongside Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, and the team has plenty to offer Beckham Jr. — not just now, but in the years to come. This is the destination that makes the most sense for both sides, and the Bills have made it abundantly clear that they’re interested in OBJ.
Aside from several Bills players recruiting OBJ and sharing glowing praise ahead of his visit, the Bills also laid out a decadent four-course meal to entice OBJ to sign.
The Bills are still the No. 1 destination, but nothing is certain yet. Odell Beckham Jr. could find himself in Buffalo, or on the other side of New York — or in another state entirely.
Wherever he lands, what is certain is that Super Bowl odds will shoot up for whichever team he thinks has the best chance of winning.