Les Snead says Los Angeles Rams eroding depth at wide receiver led to the pursuit of Odell Beckham Jr.

Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead has been wheeling and dealing for nearly a decade. Somehow, he found a way to outdo himself in 2021. Since L.A. was eliminated from the 2020 playoffs by the Green Bay Packers, Snead has been able to add Matthew Stafford, DeSean Jackson (then waived him), Sony Michel, Von Miller, and Odell Beckham Jr. Snead spoke with the media Friday, where he discussed what makes Beckham a natural fit for the offense and how the Rams players assisted in the acquisition by actively recruiting OBJ. Here are a few takeaways from the presser.

Beckham’s route running will allow him to flourish in this offense

“In a Sean McVay scheme, anyone who can run the entire route tree has thrived in what Sean’s evolved to and he’s one of those players that have been blessed with ability acumen to run the route tree, and run every route on that tree.”

Beckham may be more popular for his acrobatic one handed catches but he is, and has always been an exceptional route runner. He’s always had a knack for getting open, whether that’s against man or finding windows in zone coverage.

Injuries to Rams wide receivers led to the pursuit of OBJ

“In the last two weeks, we lost three receivers, two to injury and DeSean asked to be traded or waived. So all of a sudden, there’s a wave in the last two weeks which cut into our depth and we are a team that runs a lot of 11 personnel...We joked it might be easier to acquire Odell Beckham Jr. than Josh Reynolds based on where we were in the calendar year, and that being that Josh had to clear waivers, which he didn’t. We did put a claim in for him, but Detroit got him before us and Odell had become free.”

The receiving corps did take a hit with both Tutu Atwell and Jacob Harris losing the remainder of their rookie season to injury. Adding depth became mandatory, as seen with recent practice squad signings and eventual game day roster promotions. The addition of Beckham not only bolsters the unit, but presents different problems for a defense on a whole different level.

McVay has had discussions about Beckham’s potential role in the offense

“Sean had a conversation with Odell and kind of explained how he envisioned using Odell...The neat thing in Odell’s process is winning was important to him and we were a team that offered that chance...Odell wanted to come here and contribute to do his part knowing it was going to be phased in.”

The Rams’ culture has consistently seen players that may have had question marks about the fitting in the locker room, join the squad and contribute as model citizens. Hopefully, Beckham will continue that trend.

OBJ wanted Rams wide receiver’s blessing before joining the team

“I don’t think at the end of the day we’re going to try to teach Odell the entire playbook. Sean, his staff will figure out what elements he can add to the offense, how can we sprinkle him in on a game-to-game basis and a game plan basis and go from there...He did not want to come to the Rams until he chatted with our wide receiver group. Until he, let’s call it, really got their blessing. ‘Hey, are y’all good with me coming to be a part of this 2021 journey?’...That was a neat part of, let’s call it his vetting process, of wanting to come, wanting to make sure on the front end he fits in.”

There are reports that Jalen Ramsey, while on the phone with Beckham, went to the wide receivers room to show him that he was wanted. It’s a beautiful thing seeing the player’s recruiting measures going hand in hand with the front office’s aggressive mentality.