Oakland Raiders: 3 trades that could land the team Odell Beckham Jr.

With the Oakland Raiders overachieving and the Cleveland Browns underachieving, frustrations are mounting. Could Odell Beckham Jr.’s next destination be with the Silver and Black?

The Oakland Raiders, to some extent, are playing better than many would have expected coming into this season. Heading into their Week 6 bye, they sit above the .500 mark at 3-2.

But despite the team coming together, the early-season consistency of Jon Gruden, and a breakout rookie season from Josh Jacobs, the team still has a glaring area of weakness if they want to make the leap from middling team to playoff contender.

It doesn’t take an expert to see it; the Raiders have an issue in wide receiver depth.

That isn’t at all a surprise given the late preseason shenanigans of Antonio Brown and a slew of injuries that have completely dismantled a somewhat promising receiving corps.

On Thursday, the Raiders made their latest roster shakeup — cutting J.J. Nelson, whose injury-riddled season limited him to being active just twice this season. Nelson accrued only 36 yards on four catches in his time with the Silver and Black.

In about a third of the season, the Oakland Raiders have already cut three different wide receivers.

The offense was meant to be a threat this season, regardless of the capabilities of Derek Carr. But the Raiders are being faced with the reality of a situation where Tyrell Williams is their number one offensive option.

Even Williams is battling the injury bug. He’s expected to sit for a second straight week with a foot injury, leaving Carr’s options limited to tight end Darren Waller and slot receiver Hunter Renfrow.

The need is there for the Oakland Raiders, and it’s been something that they’ve attempted to fix in the acquisition of Zay Jones from the Buffalo Bills this past Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the much-ballyhooed Cleveland Browns have consistently disappointed so far this season. On Monday Night Football, they were embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers. Their 2-3 record has hushed former musings of a possible Super Bowl run this season.

The Browns, as all of the football world knows, made a big splash in March of this year by trading for Odell Beckham Jr.

OBJ, at the time, was seen as one of the undisputed elite receivers in the NFL. Pairing him with another young star in Baker Mayfield promised to be a cocktail for immediate and long-term success, right?

Well, no. Not so far.

Beckham has been limited to just a single touchdown through five games of the season and put together one of his most disappointing games of the year this past Monday. He’s been limited to just four catches and 47 yards over his past two games.

His shortcomings have revealed the number one knock on him — that he complains. A lot. There have been multiple reports that suggest he’s grown frustrated with his involvement in the offense.

And within this perfect storm of a sputtering Browns team, a frustrated Odell Beckham Jr., and an Oakland Raiders team that went from having Antonio Brown, J.J. Nelson, and Ryan Grant to a group held up with Scotch tape and Elmer’s, the rumor mill has fired up.

There is plenty of speculation going on right now that the Browns might be listening to calls on — or even shopping — Odell Beckham Jr., calling an end to his time in the beautiful city of…Cleveland, Ohio.

While the connections have been to several other teams in the mix, the Oakland Raiders might have one of the more compelling cases.

But just because the shoe might fit doesn’t necessarily mean that the Raiders should buy in.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what the Raiders might have to give up in order to lure Beckham from the Browns, it’s important to take a look at what his price tag might look like.