Former NFL quarterback says Kansas City should pursue ‘dynamic’ Odell Beckham

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According to a former NFL quarterback, the wide receiver position should be a priority for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason.

Robert Griffin III was the #2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, and says the Kansas City Chiefs should consider bringing in a veteran wide receiver when free agency opens on March 13.

Since being waived by the Baltimore Ravens in early 2021, Griffin’s been working as an NFL analyst for ESPN.

Chiefs’ regular season receiving woes

The Chiefs may be Super Bowl champions but their play in the receiving department was underwhelming throughout the regular season.

Kansas City led the NFL in drops during the regular season, failing to hang onto 44 of the 597 passes by Patrick Mahomes.

Rashee Rice‘s dazzling 2023 campaign had some drawbacks, namely his drops, leading the Chiefs in that department with eight.

Travis Kelce had seven, Kadarius Toney five, while Jerick McKinnon, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman each had three.

They each came up big for KC in the postseason, but some reliable free-agent pass catchers will be available next month.

Odell Beckham tipped to move to the Chiefs

Griffin believes Odell Beckham would be an ideal fit for the Chiefs next season.

Beckham is a former Super Bowl champion with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.

He’s a three-time Pro Bowler, winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 and twice being named a Second-team All-Pro.

He wrote: “The @chiefs SHOULD SIGN Odell Beckham Jr. Last year he proved he is STILL DYNAMIC after being 8th in the NFL averaging 16.1 yards per catch. The @Chiefs struggled with drops last year, but @obj had the lowest drop rate of his career with 1 drop on 64 targets (1.6%). Chief him.”

Odell Beckham’s stats

Beckham spent the 2023 season with the Baltimore Ravens on a one-year deal.

The 31-year-old has had five 1,000-yard receiving seasons over his career, though the last one was in 2019 (1,035).

Since 2020, he’s got a combined 1,421 yards through the air in the regular season, 29 fewer than his best-ever campaign in 2015.

He had 565 receiving yards with three touchdowns and a career-high 16.1 yards per catch in 2023.

Beckham only caught 35 passes during the 2023 regular season but only had one drop, the fewest of his career.

Griffin’s post, by the way, was shared by KC’s highest-profile free agent, Chris Jones.

Can the Chiefs afford Beckham

For such a small workload, Baltimore paid a lot of money to add OBJ.

He is coming off a one-year $15 million salary with the Ravens.

According to Spotrac, Beckham’s current market value is over $11 million.

The Chiefs have $28.3 million in cap space, with the NFL recently returning $30 million worth of advanced payments from the COVID era.

Some pending free agents in KC will be looking at massive salary boosts, including Chris Jones and L’Jarius Sneed.

Would signing Beckham be an intelligent move

In 2023 Beckham showed in a small sample size that he’s dependable.

However, he was supposed to be the Ravens star in the pass-catching department and was overshadowed by Zay Flowers.

If Beckham wants anywhere close to his market value, it should be a hard pass from the Chiefs.

Rice and Kelce did the job for KC, and while Beckham could be a good #3 or 4 option, he probably won’t accept the wages of a third or fourth receiver.

Therefore, it’d probably be best for the Chiefs to spend their money elsewhere.