Rams may be circling Odell Beckham Jr., but can he fix their lousy offense?

NFL executives believe the Rams are the favorite to sign free-agent WR Odell Beckham Jr., per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, but Los Angeles' offense is so out of synch that OBJ may not even make a difference.

Beckham is still recovering from surgery on the ACL in his left knee. He had surgery on the same ACL while with the Cleveland Browns in 2020. 

Other than wideout Cooper Kupp and tight end Tyler Higbee, Rams receivers have stunk it up. Kupp and Higbee have combined for 82 catches and 817 receiving yards. Eight other players have combined for 53 catches for 518 yards.   

Wide receiver Allen Robinson II — who signed a three-year, $46.5 million contract this offseason — has been awful, averaging a 21.4 receiving yards per game. A proven veteran such as OBJ, who has a good rapport with quarterback Matthew Stafford, might help the Rams' passing game. Underscore might.

However, the Rams can’t run well either, and the passing game feeds off a good running game. Los Angeles has the second-lowest yards per carry in the NFL (3.2) and fewest yards rushing (312).

Running back Adrian Peterson is perhaps the best example of an athlete performing well after major knee injuries. Eight months after suffering a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee at the end of the 2011 season, Peterson began a career year in which he rushed for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns.

But 2012 was Peterson's age-27 season; Beckham is 29. Although he caught 44 passes for 537 yards for Los Angeles last season (including the postseason), what can the Rams reasonably expect from an oldish receiver?

“The Rams have no shot at getting back to the Super Bowl without OBJ,” ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky, a former NFL QB, said recently on "NFL Live." “They have no shot. If they do not get OBJ, they’re done.” 

They may have no shot even if he does return to Los Angeles.