Could the 49ers finally go after the veteran receiver?
It feels like the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. have been connected several times over the years as the veteran has looked to switch teams, but a pairing between the two has never occurred.
Could the 2024 offseason finally be the case?
NFL insider Josina Anderson provided her thoughts on Beckham’s potential landing spots in a post on X, revealing the 49ers as one of five teams that she believes will be a good fit for the veteran.
Meanwhile, I think the #Chiefs, #49ers, #Jets, #Rams or returning to the #Ravens are 5 good landing spots for OBJ, on mutually agreeable terms—in my opinion.
The first thing is getting Odell more involved in the offense, & also carving out his role. I know this from covering… pic.twitter.com/sslV7FJ794
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 6, 2024
In addition to the 49ers, Anderson outlined the Chiefs, Jets, Rams, and Ravens as other potential options for Beckham, while sharing that the primary objective should be to carve out a bigger role in an offense than he got this season at his next destination.
Should the 49ers pursue Beckham?
Now, throughout his career, Beckham has shown to be one of the league’s best receivers during his prime, but the wideout seemed past that stage this season after a year layoff, catching 35 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns with the Ravens.
While Beckham was a big-play threat, averaging 16.1 yards per reception, he ranked behind fellow wideout Zay Flowers in all metrics this season, while tight end Mark Andrews had 10 more catches in four fewer games.
In a weaker free agency class, as top targets, Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman, were franchise-tagged, Beckham could fetch a nice salary on a one-year, prove-it deal.
But, it shouldn’t come from the 49ers.
Not only does San Francisco have a potent wideout core with Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and Jauan Jennings, but running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle are also focal parts of the offense.
With the logjam currently at the position, it wouldn’t be wise for a cash-strapped 49ers team to divert even more resources to the receiver position, especially when Beckham hasn’t played special teams since 2018.
Additionally, San Francisco appears very intrigued with the talented rookie receiver class, as they conducted formal interviews with a number of players at the position who should go within the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
All in all, with their needs and given the lack of overall cap space to spend in free agency, it seems best that the 49ers and Beckham look in different directions this offseason.
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