There’s a unique wild card presenting itself for fantasy football managers as Week 10 rapidly approaches. Is it possible that free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. could join a team only nine months after tearing his ACL and impact your fantasy roster? We’re going to dive into the case for adding Beckham off the waiver wire and onto your team.
Should You Add Odell Beckham Jr. From the Waiver Wire for Week 10?
I can’t recall another fantasy football situation like Beckham’s. The 30-year-old went to Cleveland and lost his relevance after a brilliant start with the New York Giants. The blend of Baker Mayfield’s incompetence and Beckham’s own struggles led to a disastrous ending to both of their tenures with the team.
Unlike Mayfield, Beckham quickly re-established himself at his next stop. The Los Angeles Rams immediately benefited from his presence, with Beckham producing 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games. Then, Beckham had 288 yards and two more scores with an 80.8% catch rate en route to a Super Bowl win.
The Rams don’t win the Super Bowl without Beckham.
Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the Super Bowl and has been a free agent since the big game. Beckham is now becoming a late-season stash option after he announced he’s close to his return. He specifically mentioned the Bills, Packers, Cowboys, and Giants as interested parties. The Ravens and Chiefs would make some sense as well.
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Available in 75-80% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues, now is the sharp time to add him to your bench. There’s a lot of unknown with Beckham, but the upside is he can swing your playoff matchup. It’ll take several factors, though, so he’s a blind stab in the dark right now.
MORE: Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups
If he goes to a high-volume role and is a red-zone priority, Beckham can be a grand-slam hit for managers. If he goes to Green Bay or even the Giants, I’d be much less interested in giving him a role on my playoff-caliber team. Those passing attacks just don’t have the same upside as Buffalo’s, Dallas’, or Kansas City’s.
We’re also guessing how quickly Beckham can integrate into his new situation and how explosive he’ll be. It worked on short notice in LA, but not every team has a Sean McVay and Cooper Kupp to help ease his transition. Again, only a few teams look advantageous here.
Josh Allen’s elbow injury and the Bills’ receiving depth are outside factors that could affect Beckham’s best landing spot. If Allen is 100% for the rest of the season, and Beckham doesn’t have to worry about losing snaps to an inferior Gabe Davis, then he would be a home-run waiver wire addition.
Yet, I could see the Bills slowly bringing Beckham into the fold since they don’t truly need him to play more than situational snaps.
I would add Beckham if you can, but don’t stretch too far with your roster cut to make it happen. Chances are low he’ll be a high-reward pickup. At the same time, he’s the only obvious free agent left with the potential to start and be a matchup winner come playoff time.