Why Damien Woody Believes Odell Beckham Jr. Should Sign With Patriots

Damien Woody believes an Odell Beckham Jr.-Patriots partnership would be mutually beneficial.

Beckham now is free to sign with any team after clearing waivers. Woody believes New England is the ideal place for Beckham to resurrect his career, which took a nosedive in Cleveland. The former Patriots offensive lineman also thinks OBJ would be a piece of Mac Jones’ arsenal that the rookie quarterback currently lacks.

“I think OBJ right now is living more off reputation than production. I think it’s imperative for him to get to a system where he can be utilized the most and I think that’s New England,” Woody said Thursday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “You look at New England right now, particularly on offense, they don’t have a No. 1 receiver. Yes, they signed Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, but they’re not OBJ.

“They have a strong running game. They need an alpha on the outside where Mac Jones can look to that guy for explosive plays. Now, I know OBJ hasn’t produced that many explosive plays over the past couple seasons. He’s only had seven catches for 20-plus (yards) over the past two seasons. But I think in New England, with Bill Belichick being able to define roles for players, I think that environment up there for him — that could be the igniter as far as kickstarting his career back into place.”

Time will tell if Woody’s take is spoken into existence. The Patriots reportedly have touched base with Beckham’s camp and believe they’re “real players” in the competition to sign the three-time Pro Bowl selection.