GREEN BAY, Wis. – In less than four weeks, the Green Bay Packers have given their receiver corps a desperately needed facelift.
On April 14, they signed veteran Sammy Watkins. Then, they use three draft picks on receivers – Christian Watson in the second round, Romeo Doubs in the fourth round and Samori Toure in the seventh round. Along with undrafted free agent Danny Davis, that’s five fresh faces to join Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and the rest of Green Bay’s returning players.
It’s a good start but perhaps the Packers could do better.
In a Pro Football Focus story on “10 free agents that make sense,” Ben Linsey suggested the Packers sign Odell Beckham Jr.
In eight regular-season games with the Rams last season, he caught 27-of-48 passes (56.3 percent) for 305 yards (11.3 average) and five touchdowns.
While that was hardly season-changing production, he really stepped to the forefront in the playoffs. In the Rams’ four-game march to the championship, he caught 25-of-37 passes (67.6 percent) for 316 yards (12.6 average) and two touchdowns. He caught nine balls for 113 yards vs. the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, then got off to a hot start in the Super Bowl before suffering a torn ACL.
“Beckham showed last season in Los Angeles that he can still be that guy, as he took on a bigger role as the season progressed and came up big in the postseason for Matthew Stafford before his injury,” Linsey wrote. “Given the late injury, he’s not going to be a Week 1 contributor, but there’s a good chance OBJ could give the Packers offense the spark it needs as they push toward the playoffs.”
The multimillion-dollar question is when Beckham will be ready following an injury sustained on Feb. 13. It’s possible Beckham won’t be available until December, though late-season Beckham might be better than no Beckham at all.
Presumably, Beckham won’t be signed by anyone until he’s close to returning to the practice field. Who knows the state of Green Bay’s receiver corps at that point in the season.
When the Browns released Beckham last season, Beckham reportedly “prioritized” joining the Packers. Eventually, he felt more love from the Rams and accepted their incentives-laden contract.
Scroll to Continue
When Beckham was available, Davante Adams was hopeful the Packers would sign him to give the team a legit one-two punch at receiver to make a run at the Super Bowl. With Adams having been traded to the Raiders, the Packers don’t have a legit No. 1 receiver.
“It would do a lot just from the respect standpoint,” Adams said at the time. “Obviously, the guys we have are more than capable and we can go win a Super Bowl with the guys that we have in that room right now, but just knowing that’s Odell Beckham Jr. over there, you can’t just leave him one-on-one with just whatever corner. I’m sure there will be opportunities where I’ll be left one-on-one still now, and he would get that, as well, but the likelihood of it definitely goes down when you have a guy like that over there that they got to play a little more straight up, which will allow a little less attention coming my way and more one-on-one opportunities, hopefully.”
A three-time Pro Bowler, Beckham has averaged 66 receptions and seven touchdowns in his eight NFL seasons.
The Packers’ 14 Undrafted Free Agents
Running Backs: Tyler Goodson and B.J. Baylor
Interior Offensive Line: Cole Schneider and George Moore
Offensive Tackles: Jahmir Johnson and Caleb Jones
Receiver: Wisconsin’s Danny Davis
Defensive Linemen: Akial Byers and Hauati Pututau
Inside Linebackers: Ellis Brooks, Caliph Brice
Outside Linebacker: Chauncey Manac
Defensive Backs: CB Raleigh Texada, S Tre Sterling