Odell Beckham to the Seahawks is a pipe dream. A really bad pipe dream.

OBJ’s numbers compared to Angry Doug

We’ll turn to playerprofiler.com for some in-depth stats. In 2016, Odell Beckham Jr. made 101 receptions on 169 targets. He had nine drops and had 529 yards after the catch. Doug Baldwin in 2016 had 94 catches on 125 targets. He had four dropped passes, and 447 yards after the catch.

Beckham caught just under 65 percent of his targets, had 5.24 yards per reception after the catch, and dropped 5.3 passes per 100 targets. Baldwin caught 75 percent of his targets, had 4.76 yards per reception after the catch, and dropped 3.2 passes per 100 targets. So for 48 extra yards per 100 catches, Beckham drops a couple balls. What’s far more important, is it took 44 more plays to get Beckham his 101 catches. Those 44 plays are all incomplete passes, of course. Their may be an odd exception of another receiver making the catch on a reception, of course, but it’s just as likely an interception, and most likely just a ball hitting the turf.

2017 isn’t as good a year for comparison as Beckham missed so much time, but this stat stands out. The same site shows OBJ with 32 catchable targets out of 41 total. Of those, he caught 25 passes, or 78 percent of the balls he should have caught. Baldwin had 89 catchable targets of 116 total. He made the play on 75 of those, so caught 84 percent of the balls he needed to catch. Again, Baldwin is the more reliable target. For 48 extra yards a season, I’ll take the guy who doesn’t burn 44 extra plays to get them. That doesn’t even factor in Baldwin’s exceptional blocking ability. You could still argue Beckham is a better receiver than Baldwin, but Angry Doug is definitely the more complete player.

But it isn’t about Baldwin, it’s about who Beckham replaces

It’s more appropriate to compare Beckham to Paul Richardson, the receiver he’d replace. Yes, he’s better than Richardson. Like Beckham, Richardson is a spectacular player who at times misses the routine catches. If he gets as many targets in Washington as Beckham does in New York, a lot more people will know his name. Regardless, Beckham would certainly be an upgrade.

It’s also worth comparing him to Tyler Lockett, who would slide to the number three receiver role. I’m not about to argue that Lockett is better than Beckham. I will say that over his career, Lockett has averaged 8.82 yards per target. Beckham has averaged 8.88. Oh, and Lockett caught 85 percent of his catchable targets last season, while OBJ caught 78 percent. Maybe the opportunities matter. Just sayin’.