Packers latest injury news should have fans thinking OBJ

The Green Bay Packers and Odell Beckham Jr. seem destined for each other. A recent injury makes it even more of a good fit.

The Green Bay Packers offense has been anything but lethal so far this year. 27th in average points per drive and 15th in total yards, this hasn’t been what Packers fans have come to expect of an offense led by Aaron Rodgers.

Prior to the season, much was made about Green Bay’s receivers and whether or not they would be up to the task of replacing Davante Adams — traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason — by committee. So far, it looks like perhaps not.

Green Bay does have 1,355 receiving yards through six games — which is mighty close to what they had last year at this point: 1,404 — but no receiver has emerged as even close to what Adams was pulling in as the lead receiver last year. They’re also averaging over a yard fewer per pass attempt (6.22) this season vs what they put up last year (7.27).

Some injury news adds more strain to an already sore offense. Randall Cobb suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter of their loss to the New York Jets and will miss several weeks.

Cobb trails just Allen Lazard in reception yards with 257. He gets 9.9 yards per target and 14.3 yards per reception this season.

Without a de facto WR1 for the Packers, defenses can pick their battles. They don’t need to be fearful of a singular explosive WR. Teams that have such a weapon can often benefit not only from that receiver’s big plays but also the gravity they create in pulling the attention of opposing defenses away, creating opportunities for other receivers.

With that injury comes thoughts of contingency plans. An obvious move would be to consider Odell Beckham Jr.

Odell Beckham Jr. remains a free agent, could fit with the Packers

Of the teams Odell Beckham Jr. is seemingly interested in — the Chiefs, Packers, Rams, Bills, and Ravens — the Packers and Ravens need receiving help the most. The Bills lead the league in receiving yards, Chiefs are fourth, Rams are ninth, and the Ravens are 25th.

Beckham would fill a need for the Packers right away with Cobb out and ostensibly be a threat for the remainder of the season as well, helping them get things back on track. If the Packers can simply utilize Aaron Jones a bit better and run the ball more, they could get their fundamentals back on track and win some games.

One problem is Beckham’s readiness isn’t exactly known. He suffered a torn ACL in the Super Bowl and is still ostensibly on the recovery track for that. Furthermore, Beckham seems to want to get back to the Rams, and could use negotiations with other teams to raise the price of the Rams offer which he has deemed to be far too low.

It’ll be interesting to see who wins the OBJ sweepstakes this time around.