Is OBJ coming home in 2022?
By: Jake Rajala
The polarizing free-agent wide receiver Odell Bekcham Jr. is looking to win another Super Bowl ring and potentially create a Hall of Fame career with a team of his choice in 2022. OBJ was recently his old self with the Los Angeles Rams in the postseason, as he hauled in a touchdown in the Super Bowl and reeled in 113 yards in the NFC Championship contest.
OBJ will have to come back from another torn ACL and likely miss at least a month of football action in the 2022 regular season, but I fully expect the 29-year-old to come back stronger and be a playmaker for a potential Super Bowl contender next season. I expect OBJ to pick a team that has an excellent fit for him, boasts quality talent at QB, and is pushing for a Super Bowl victory. I simply believe the Saints are the perfect fit for OBJ at this point in time.
It’s well noted that Beckham Jr. is from the Big Easy and he played at LSU. Furthermore, he had a strong interest in returning home in the 2021 season before opting to join the “dream team” in Los Angeles. The Patriots and the Saints were really interested in scooping up the gifted wideout.
It’s also clear that Beckham Jr. is a mega-fan of the Saints offense and Sean Payton. He was a bit jealous when Emmanual Sanders inked a contract with the Saints in 2020. Of course, the Saints don’t have Payton at the helm anymore. Nonetheless, the Saints long-time Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael is returning and he’s going to make sure there’s a very similar playbook from the Payton era to help his studs like Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara succeed.
The Deshaun Watson factor has to be astronomical for OBJ, as well. Watson will take the next few days to contemplate his next destination, but OBJ should be really intrigued to play with the Saints if Watson becomes a part of Who Dat Nation.
The Saints could use a quality WR2 more than the Patriots or Rams (to say the least), so I expect the Saints to be very aggressive to land OBJ. I also don’t foresee Beckham Jr. looking to take likey less money from the Rams to be a WR3 in a Sean McVay offense that should feed Cooper Kupp and A-Rob the pigskin at WR the most moving forward. The Saints shouldn’t be bringing the Honey Badger home, but they should “finally” be the most favorable fit for OBJ in 2022.
