The Baltimore Ravens have added a big piece to their passing game, signing Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year contract that will be worth “up to” $18 million according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. It’s a good fantasy landing spot, as the Ravens lacked a true alpha wide receiver and could throw the ball more under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
Still, I wouldn’t be looking for Beckham to reclaim his role as a fantasy superstar.
Once an elite wideout, Beckham has played in just 21 games since 2020 due to a pair of ACL reconstructions, the last one coming after Super Bowl LVI as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. He did look good at times, scoring 13-plus points in four of his eight regular-season contests. But overall, OBJ averaged a very modest 10.9 points in a passing game that lacked a No. 2 wideout after it lost Robert Woods.
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Now in Baltimore, assuming he’s 100% from his second ACL tear (and he should be), OBJ would likely be the second option in the pass attack behind Mark Andrews and ahead of Rashod Bateman. That is, assuming the Ravens have Lamar Jackson under center. If he ends up getting traded or decides to hold out, the value of all the Baltimore pass catchers will be in question. Who knows, maybe the addition of OBJ will help to sway Jackson to remain with the purple and black.
Stay tuned to that.
Beckham should now be drafted as a No. 3 fantasy wideout. That might be seen as conservative to some, but coming off multiple ACL tears and not playing all last season means there could be rust, and I don’t think he’ll be the same baller we saw in the Big Apple. Still, he’s an upgrade over Bateman and Devin Duvernay. Both will lose some appeal, especially Bateman, who’s now more of a WR4 in most drafts.
Jackson will be a fantasy winner if he remains with the team, and I don’t see OBJ’s presence hurting Andrews. He’ll remain a top-three tight end along with Travis Kelce and T.J. Hockenson. One other winner from this move is Jets second-year receiver Garrett Wilson, who won’t have to contend with Beckham in New York as was rumored in recent weeks.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late-breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business to help you win a fantasy championship!
