It’s been no secret that San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has been an enormous fan of Odell Beckham Jr., dating back to when the New York Giants were first looking to trade the uber-talented wide receiver.
Three years later, little has changed. Shanahan’s infatuation with OBJ very much remains to this day, as San Francisco is reportedly “open to discussions” in signing the free agent.
While some of the comments by the 49ers head coach could be nothing more than “kicking the tires” type speech — the sports version of being vague for the sake of keeping people on their toes — the storied franchise keeps popping up as a possible landing spot for Beckham Jr.
So, just in case there are 49ers fans out there who are sincerely entertaining the idea of Beckham throwing on that classic red and gold, below are three glaring reasons why they need to sack that thought with the great gusto of Nick Bosa.
Christian McCaffrey already solved San Francisco’s offensive riddle
The 49ers’ focus on their diverse running game and endless schemes has never been in doubt. When the running backs are doing their thing, it almost always equates to great results everywhere else on the offensive side of the ball. It’s been one of the team’s greatest strengths under coach Shanahan and a huge component of what allows Jimmy Garoppolo to thrive so long as he’s in sync with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and the rest of the crew.
Now, when you enter Christian McCaffrey and his incredible skillset into that equation, things get magnified to an absurd degree. The good kind. There simply could not be a better safety valve for a quarterback like Jimmy G. The presence of a player like McCaffrey is something Garoppolo has so badly needed when he’s in the midst of one of those panicky, all-too-familiar bailout moments.
Plus, injured running back Elijah Mitchell — the perfect punishing changeup to CMC — has already returned to practice. Being short on offensive options is just a preposterous notion and not an area in need of focus or to be intertwined in the ongoing NFL rumor mill.
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San Francisco 49ers’ loaded offensive arsenal leaves no room for OBJ
It’s probably fair for people reading the above words to think it’s maniacal that there’s actually an NFL offense out there that wouldn’t be able to find a proper, productive place for a wide receiver of Odell Beckham Jr.’s caliber. But when you take a look at the 49ers specifically, where does a guy coming off his second ACL recovery really fit in?
You kind of get the sense that the only guarantee for San Francisco bringing on a player like Beckham Jr. would be quickly diminishing the role of a thriving player like fellow wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, a young and crucial piece of the puzzle who’s been furthering his offensive value with each passing week.
The list goes on after that, too. If you’ve watched the 49ers closely, second-year receiver Jauan Jennings not only has a knack for YAC, but he’s also a brutally physical player when the ball is in someone else’s hands.
In short, the bus is full.
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Odell Beckham Jr. is seeking a multi-year deal
The idea that Beckham Jr. wants to find a “true home” really feels like the clincher in all this talk equating to just that; nothing but talk.
If the conversation were about snagging OBJ for what would be considered a rental-type “steal” — just as the Los Angeles Rams did a year ago — to help propel a contending team like the 49ers the rest of the way, then we’re not just having a different conversation, we’re reading a different book.
But the reality is Beckham Jr. is seeking a multi-year deal, and that’s precisely the moment where San Francisco needs to take a healthy step back and watch Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys reenact a thrilling scene from Game of Thrones and attempt to fend off all of the other suitors for the honorable rights to his services.
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