The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a hard-fought 30-29 win over the Las Vegas Raiders Monday night, moving their record to 4-1 in the process.
Through five games, quarterback Patrick Mahomes continues to play at a high level. He’s thrown 15 touchdowns against two interceptions with four of those scores going to tight end Travis Kelce in Monday night’s win alone.
Despite this, general manager Brett Veach seems to be open to adding an outside receiver to the mix. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, injured pass-catcher Odell Beckham Jr. has been bandied about a bit.
Beckham Jr. has been taking a free-agent tour as the star wide receiver enters the back end of his rehab from a torn ACL suffered in last season’s Super Bowl.
The former Pro Bowl pass-catcher has caught the eye of multiple contending teams with a target return date of roughly a month. Could he make sense for Kansas City?
Related: Kansas City Chiefs’ standing in Sportsnaut’s Week 6 NFL power rankings
Odell Beckham Jr. as a fit for the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City addressed its wide receiver position during free agency following the shocking trade of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins this past spring. It signed veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to pair up with holdover Mecole Hardman. Through five games, things seem to be going swimmingly between the two newbies and Mr. Mahomes.
JuJu Smith-Schuster stats (2022): 22 receptions, 257 yards, 0 TD, 62.9% catch rate
Marquez Valdes-Scantling stats (2022): 19 receptions, 258 yards, 0 TD, 61.3% catch rate
With that said, Chiefs wide receivers have caught only two of Mahomes’ 15 touchdowns this season. Star tight end Travis Kelce leads the NFL with seven touchdown catches after his career performance Monday evening.
It seems likely that adding OBJ to the mix would push Hardman down a rung. Kansas City was expecting a lot out of the fourth-year pass-catcher after he put up a career-high 693 receiving yards last season. Unfortunately, that just has not come to fruition. Hardman heads into Week 6 having caught just 12 passes for 144 yards. A healthy OBJ could overtake him on the depth chart.
Related: Kansas City Chiefs schedule and game-by-game predictions
Potential Odell Beckham Jr. contract and impact on Kansas City Chiefs chase
There’s going to be an in-season sweepstakes for OBJ once he is fully recovered from the torn ACL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills have joined his 2021 team in that of the Los Angeles Rams as potential landing spots.
Right now, it seems that OBJ might very well be looking for a multi-year contract rather than a deal that would let him hit free agency in March.
For Kansas City, that could be seen as a good thing. It is a mere $3.32 million under the salary cap. Being able to sign Beckham Jr. while pushing back larger salary cap hits to later years could be an avenue this team will pursue.
What we do know is that OBJ is looking to latch on with a contender. Kansas City more than qualifies. After being picked up from the Cleveland Browns a season ago, the three-time Pro Bowler caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight games with Los Angeles. He also performed extremely well en route to helping the Rams win the Super Bowl.
Time will tell where OBJ lands. But it would not be a surprise if he continues to be linked to the Kansas City Chiefs. There’s a need. There’s a fit. It’s now all about the finances and other aspects outside of those two things.