Falcons Advised to Consider Signing $108 Million WR

The Atlanta Falcons took a risk, at least a small one, signing both wide receivers Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus this offseason.

Would they be willing to do it again with another wideout?

On Friday, CBS Sports's John Breech named the Atlanta Falcons one of five potential landing spots for veteran receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

"There are multiple reasons why this move makes sense. For one, this would reunite Beckham with Kevin Stefanski," wrote Breech. "Beckham played in Stefanski's offense during their two and a half seasons together with the Browns, but that stint came to an end after Odell's dad made a video highlighting a bunch of missed reads Baker Mayfield.

"Despite the drama, Beckham did catch 114 passes for 1,586 yards and seven touchdowns during his 29 games played in Stefanski's offense. Not only is Beckham familiar with Stefanski, but he's also already caught passes from Tua Tagovailoa in his career."

As Breech noted, Beckham played parts of three seasons in Kevin Stefanski's offense. That was with the Cleveland Browns.

Furthermore, his most recent NFL experience was with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins.

Over 10 seasons, Beckham has earned $108.2 million playing in the league.

Could the Falcons Be Interested Odell Beckham Jr.?

The connection Beckham has with Stefanski and Tagovailoa makes the former All-Pro wideout an intriguing potential addition in Atlanta.

The Falcons could also use additional receiver depth. This offseason, the Falcons added Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus to help replace Darnell Mooney. But as previously mentioned, both come with risks.

Dotson is a former first-round pick that never lived up to his potential. At best, he's a reclamation project.

Of course, "reclamation project" implies the player was previously productive. Dotson's career high in receiving is 523 yards.

Last season, he had 18 catches, 262 receiving yards and one touchdown for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Zuccheaus had a 500-yard season two years ago. Last season, though, he posted 39 catches for 313 yards and two touchdowns.

Neither receiver has ever reached even 600 yards in an individual season.

Beckham had five 1,000-yard campaigns early in his career. He made the Pro Bowl during his first three seasons from 2014-15. Beckham also made second-team All-Pro during 2015 and 2016.

He registered a career-high 1,450 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in 2015. The following season, he had a career-best 101 catches.

The Falcons would love to have that kind of production opposite Drake London.

Why the Falcons Shouldn't Sign Beckham

The problem with signing Beckham, though, is an NFL team wouldn't be getting that previously described version of the receiver.

It's been seven years since Beckham had a 1,000-yard season. In 2024, Beckham had nine catches for 55 yards in nine contests while Tagovailoa was his quarterback in Miami.

Last year, Beckham didn't play at all. The time away means Beckham will be fresh but also another year older.

The veteran wideout returned in 2023 after a full year away from the league during 2022. In 2023, Beckham had 565 receiving yards.

But it only gets harder to return after a long layoff as players get older. The lack of any type of production two years ago is also concerning.

It might be tempting for the Falcons to give Beckham a shot. He'll likely be cheap, which means the risk is low.

But signing Beckham at 33 years old also doesn't move the needle much. The Falcons would likely be better off signing a different receiver for depth.