Speculation has picked up in recent days about which team Odell Beckham Jr. will pick as his next one. He has recently received full clearance to return to football activities and will reportedly select a team after the Thanksgiving holiday. Could the Minnesota Vikings still be in the running?
A lot of the attention recently has been given to the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, who are reportedly the last two teams in the running. Multiple Cowboys players have taken to social media to try and recruit Beckham to the team after he made a tweet about their 40-3 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Linebacker Micah Parsons, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, cornerback Trevon Diggs and safety Jayron Kearse all reached out to Beckham, who has been active on social media himself. In addition to the comment about the Dallas game, he also tweeted a positive response to the news that the playing surface at MetLife Stadium, the home field of the Giants, would be changed in the offseason as well.
The Giants organization holds a special place in the heart of Beckham, as they selected him 12th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft out of LSU. He loved the franchise and there have been plenty of reports that he would love to return there now that David Gettleman, the general manager who traded him, is gone.
While the NFC East rivals have garnered all of the headlines, some people believe the Beckham race is not yet over. One of those people is an NFL scout that spoke to NFL Analysis Network. They believe Beckham will end up with the Vikings.
“Everyone is talking about the Giants and Cowboys, but the Vikings are by far the best fit. OBJ and Justin Jefferson are close. Put him on that squad, and I think the Vikings are more set up for a playoff run than either New York or Dallas.”
Justin Jefferson played collegiately at LSU, so there is certainly a connection there between him and Beckham. Landing in Minnesota would also take all of the pressure off of Beckham to produce at a high level right away as they have Jefferson and veteran Adam Thielen entrenched as their top two options.
While that is a strong draw, it could have just as much of a negative impact on their chances. If Beckham wants a chance to move up in the pecking order and become a go-to option, that won’t present itself in Minnesota.
The fact that the Vikings were just trounced by the Cowboys likely doesn’t improve their case, either. If Beckham’s No. 1 goal is winning, it could come down to how the Thanksgiving matchup between Dallas and New York goes. The Giants have by far the biggest need for him as they lost Wan’Dale Robinson to a torn ACL last week, decimating what was already a shaky group of wide receivers.
