Jacksonville Jaguars: Not a good idea to trade for Odell Beckham Jr.

There are different paths the Jacksonville Jaguars can take this offseason to upgrade their roster. They will be able to make a couple of splash signing in free agency or add a few playmakers in 2021’s draft. On the other hand, they can also pull a big-time trade due to their surplus of cap space and draft picks. Nevertheless, there’s no reason for them to consider pursuing Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. if he becomes available.

Tommy Garrett of Pro Football Network recently wrote about potential landing spots for Beckham if the Browns release him or make him available via trade and Jacksonville came up in the list. He quotes a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that states there’s a strong chance the three-time Pro Bowler won’t play in Cleveland in 2021 and goes on to say that he could be traded instead.

Garrett then points out that Beckham’s production in the last two years hasn’t been the greatest, hauling in 23 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdowns in 2020 and 74 catches for 1,035 yards and touchdowns the year before. Although he says that trading the wideout may be a bit extreme, he sees the Jaguars as a potential destination due to their abundance of cap room, the presence of head coach Urban Meyer and their need for wide receiver talent.

It wouldn’t make sense for the Jacksonville Jaguars to pursue Beckham Jr.

While a trade for Orlando Brown Jr. would upgrade the Jaguars’ left tackle position, one for Beckham wouldn’t make much sense. It’s true that last season he hauled in a career-low 23 receptions due to a torn ACL but even before the injury, he wasn’t having a productive year.

Beckham might’ve had a down year, and could go back to playing at a high level in 2021. After all, he’s still 28 and should have plenty of productive football left in him. However, trading for him might be cost-prohibitive and the Jaguars could easily use a high-round selection in 2021’s round to take a wide receiver prospect such as Kadarius Toney or make a play for Allen Robinson or Kenny Golladay in the open market.

Even though Beckham could be his old dominant self in 2021, the Jaguars have other ways to upgrade their wide receiver corps and most of them may not be as costly as trading for the former first-round pick, so it doesn’t make much to trade for him.