Are the Vikings a Realistic Landing Spot for Odell Beckham Jr?

Beckham will have no shortage of potential suitors once he's fully healthy.

Odell Beckham Jr.'s future is starting to become a hot topic around the NFL again.

The free agent wide receiver is a little over eight months removed from tearing his ACL in the Rams' Super Bowl victory. He has said that he's targeting a mid-November return to action, indicating he could play as soon as Week 10 or 11. That's not all that far away.

Combine Beckham's superstardom — he has more Instagram followers than any other NFL player, by a lot — with the fact that the soon-to-be-30-year-old can clearly still help boost a contender's offense, and it's not surprising that social media is full of discussions over where he might land.

Are the Vikings a realistic potential suitor for Beckham? They just might be.

For starters, the Vikings are 5-1. They've put themselves in a great position to not only make the playoffs, but win the NFC North and compete for one of the top seeds in the conference if they're able to stay hot. Beckham isn't going to sign with a non-playoff team, so the Vikings appear to at least meet the minimum requirement there.

There are plenty of other connections that make it an intriguing possible fit. Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell was just with Beckham on the Super Bowl-winning Rams last year. O'Connell knows what Beckham can bring to an offense, and Beckham knows what O'Connell is like as an offensive coach.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was also with Beckham in Cleveland for a few years. Perhaps most importantly, the Vikings have a bunch of LSU connections in their locker room. Patrick Peterson starred at LSU right before Beckham got there in 2011. Danielle Hunter played with Beckham for two years. And Justin Jefferson, a more recent LSU product, has been super close with Beckham for years now, saying he's like an older brother to him.

The fit also makes sense from a football perspective. Yes, the Vikings have Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn as their No. 2 and 3 receivers behind Jefferson. But Thielen, now 32 years old, ranks 94th out of 111 qualified receivers and tight ends in average separation, according to Next Gen Stats. Osborn has a pedestrian 19-177-1 receiving line through six games and is probably best suited in a complementary role. 

The Vikings have not been able to generate many explosive passing plays to people other than Jefferson so far this season, which Beckham could help remedy. He has a career average of 13.9 yards per catch and was at 12.7 last year, including the playoffs. Thielen and Osborn are both averaging fewer than ten yards per catch this year.

Beckham isn't at his peak anymore, but the three-time Pro Bowler is still a very talented player who can contribute to winning. Because of what he'd bring to their offense, it's something the Vikings would absolutely have to consider.

So what are the obstacles? 

For one, the Vikings basically don't have any cap space at the moment. However, that shouldn't be considered a major issue, as there are avenues for them to free up space with restructured deals or extensions. The bigger obstacle is that there are a lot of other teams who will be interested in Beckham, and some of them might have more compelling pitches to make.

The Chiefs, for example, have been rumored as a potential landing spot. The Bills, too. If Beckham prioritizes quarterback play, linking up with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen would be a better situation than playing with Kirk Cousins. The Rams, Packers, Cowboys and a number of other teams could also be in the mix.

But I wouldn't rule the Vikings out. The connections, particularly with O'Connell and Jefferson, are there. So is the path to the postseason — and a potential major role on offense.

This is all speculation for now. We likely won't find out where Beckham signs for at least a couple more weeks while he continues the final stages of his ACL recovery.

The Vikings shouldn't be considered the favorite to eventually land Beckham, but it makes enough sense for both sides that it's worth keeping in mind as a legitimate possibility.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

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