The NFL never sleeps, and so the Baltimore Ravens made a significant move yesterday, adding veteran wideout Odell Beckham. He was reportedly going to meet with the Jets today, so Baltimore snuck in to sign him to a one-year contract, presumably well above what the Jets would have offered.
It's been reported as a 1-year, $15 million deal, worth up to $18 million -- not bad for a guy who didn't play at all last season while rehabbing a torn ACL. But Beckham is just 30 years old and he's been a difference-maker on the field. And it's a significant, long-term need area for the Ravens.
Since Beckham entered the league in 2014, he's had 4 top-20 (PPR) fantasy finishes at the wide receiver position in five fully healthy seasons (25th the other year). Baltimore in that time has had a single top-20 wideout -- Steve Smith back in 2014. (Marquise Brown was 21st a couple of years ago.) No team has had fewer top-20 wideouts in that span than Baltimore.
| TOP-20 WIDE RECEIVERS (PPR), 2014-2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | #WR | Players |
| Seattle | 11 | Baldwin, Lockett, Metcalf |
| Tampa Bay | 11 | Evans, Godwin |
| Detroit | 9 | St. Brown, Golladay, Tate, Megatron, Marvin Jones |
| Pittsburgh | 9 | Brown, Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson |
| Atlanta | 8 | Julio Jones, Ridley |
| Green Bay | 8 | Adams, Nelson, Cobb |
| Minnesota | 8 | Jefferson, Thielen, Diggs |
| Cincinnati | 7 | Chase, Higgins, Boyd |
| Denver | 7 | Thomas, Sanders, Sutton |
| Houston | 7 | Hopkins, Cooks |
| L.A. Chargers | 7 | Allen, Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams |
| Miami | 7 | Tyreek, Waddle, Landry, Parker, Wallace |
| Kansas City | 6 | Tyreek, Maclin |
| L.A. Rams | 6 | Kupp, Woods, Cooks |
| New Orleans | 6 | Thomas, Cooks |
| Buffalo | 5 | Diggs, Watkins, John Brown |
| Dallas | 5 | Lamb, Cooper, Bryant |
| Indianapolis | 5 | Pittman, Hilton |
| Las Vegas | 5 | Adams, Renfrow, Crabtree, Cooper |
| Arizona | 4 | Fitzgerald, Hopkins |
| Carolina | 4 | Moore, Benjamin, Robby Anderson |
| Cleveland | 4 | Cooper, Landry Pryor |
| Jacksonville | 4 | Kirk, Chark, Robinson, Hurns |
| New England | 4 | Edelman, Cooks |
| N.Y. Giants | 4 | Beckham |
| Philadelphia | 4 | A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Maclin, Matthews |
| Chicago | 3 | Robinson, Jeffery |
| N.Y. Jets | 3 | Anderson, Marsall, Decker |
| San Francisco | 3 | Aiyuk, Samuel, Boldin |
| Washington | 2 | McLaurin |
| Tennessee | 1 | A.J. Brown |
| Baltimore | 1 | Steve Smith |
Obviously, Beckham needs to be healthy, and he needs to stay healthy. That's been a problem for him the last few years. But if so, it's a nice get for Baltimore.
The other, arguably more important component to this deal is it might be a major positive for the odds of Baltimore and Lamar Jackson working things out. Jackson posted a screen shot of a FaceTime call with Beckham on social media yesterday. Take it as at least a sign that the two are either thinking -- or hoping -- they're going to be playing together this season.
--Andy Richardson