Chicago Bears: Why Odell Beckham would be better than Allen Robinson

Odell Beckham could add more targets for Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears

Let’s look at why Odell Beckham would fit in with Justin Fields and this Chicago Bears offense more than Allen Robinson. If we look at the NFL’s NextGen stats, Allen Robinson is the worst in the NFL this season at separating from defenders. He has an average separation of only 1.7 yards. Odell Beckham however has an average separation of 2.7 yards. To put that in comparison, Darnell Mooney also has an average separation of 2.7 yards. Rondale Moore leads the league with 5.9 yards of average separation.

If we look at Player Profiler, a site that also tracks separation, the numbers are even worse. Allen Robinson has an average of 0.89 yards. Odell Beckham on the other hand has an average of 1.65. Once again for comparison, Player Profiler has Darnell Mooney averaging 1.77 yards of separation.

Odell Beckham might not be the best teammate, and sometimes that can become a headache as we saw with Anthony Miller. However, when we look at his ability on the field, it just fits better with what Justin Fields likes from his wide receivers — separation. Even Cole Kmet has averaged 3.2 yards of separation according to NextGen stats and 1.47 according to Player Profiler. This is why Kmet is only eight targets behind Robinson and why Mooney has nine more than Robinson.

Separation is not everything, but it does help build trust. Beckham has 232 yards on the year with only 34 targets. Although he hasn’t found the end zone, he is on pace for more catches and more yards than Robinson. He just does more with less. Should Beckham land with a team that has a decent quarterback — he gets his choice as the chances of him being claimed is slim now that any team that claims him will have to pay $7.25 million rather than just over $1 million as originally reported.

The point I am trying to make here is that this team will be just fine without Allen Robinson. There are better options in free agency next year and even if the Bears cannot land one of the top options, the drop-off should not be as drastic as many Chicago Bears fans believe.

The offense could have used Odell Beckham and if the original reports were true, I would have loved to see Ryan Pace be aggressive (not really that aggressive) and claim Beckham. The team is 10th in waiver order and if the contract was only going to be $1 million as originally reported, it made perfect sense for Pace, who is fighting for his job (we think), to bring in a rental talent like Odell Beckham. Now that it’s going to cost $7.25 million, it makes zero sense for the Bears to pursue the receiver who isn’t going to choose to play for a struggling 3-5 team that only has $3 million in salary cap space.

Is it possible that other teams see the problem with Allen Robinson also and there was not enough of a trade value for him at the 2021 NFL trade deadline? It is a shame because Robinson should have been traded and that’s as much on Ryan Pace failing as it seems it is on Robinson’s production without volume. It’s also a shame we won’t get a chance to see Beckham in a Bears uniform for the final nine weeks of the season.