Do the Saints have room for Odell Beckham Jr.?
NEW ORLEANS - Yes, the New Orleans Saints have room for Odell Beckham Jr.
The Saints have completely remodeled their receiver room from last season. Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, and Deonte Harty headlined the Saints’ top three receivers. They also had “contribution” from Kenny Stills, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Chris Hogan, Easop Winston, and Kevin White, as well as Ty Montgomery.
How would Odell Beckham Jr. fit in with this loaded receiver room? First off, Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry do a lot of things well and can be interchangeable every snap. Chris Olave will get his because of his diverse skill set, speed and route running. That is three solid receivers already with Callaway, Harty, and Smith available as well. So, the answer to where he would fit in is easy. The Saints’ system over the past two decades hasn’t changed and it won’t change this season as well. The Saints’ offensive units roll out like hockey lines, different packages, and formations for different players. Adding another receiver to the mix only makes their packages that much more lethal.
Will there be enough snaps to go around with all this talent at the position? Let’s take a look at the Rams receiver room (who are interested in re-signing OBJ at the right price). The Rams have 2 ball-dominant elite veteran receivers in Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson, with a young up-and-coming Van Jefferson as well. Sound familiar? Saints are in the same situation. Let’s talk about how the Saints could make this work. Last season, in a historically bad Saints offense Callaway led the receiver room in snaps with 833, Smith had 520, Harty 298, Ty Montgomery 300, Kenny Stills 274, Lil’Jordan Humphrey 216. Hogan, Winston, and White also combined for 134 snaps. Even with one of the worst cores the Saints have had in years they still found ways to use different packages while being extremely limited. Finding packages for Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, Taysom Hill, Adam Trautman, Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, Jarvis Landry and potentially Odell Beckham Jr. will be an easy task for the Saints offensive staff. One snap you can have Thomas at X, Olave at Z, and Taysom Hill at Y with Kamara in the backfield, and the next you can bring at Thomas, Landry, and Beckham with Ingram in the backfield in 11 formation. The possibilities are endless and nothing unfamiliar for the Saints staff.