Patriots: Rob Ninkovich pushing much smarter trade rumor than Odell Beckham Jr. deal

Former Patriots LB Rob Ninkovich predicted a much smarter trade involving Cleveland than the Odell Beckham Jr. rumors.

Despite the conviction Cam Newton has in the Patriots’ current collection of pass catchers, the team could really prove to benefit from adding a wide receiver before the 2020 trade deadline.

That’s not to say the likes of Julian Edelman, Damiere Byrd, and N’Keal Harry (and … well … that’s it) aren’t capable of handling the majority of targets, but acquiring a genuine game-breaking talent in the prime of his career to line up on the perimeter would add a needed dimension of versatility to the offense.

As we know, Odell Beckham Jr. is the most high-profile name the Patriots have been linked with, but even the most delusional of fans (we hope) couldn’t talk themselves into that becoming a reality. Well, it just so happens that former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich recently predicted a much more common-sense trade involving a Cleveland receiver.

Could any members of the Foxborough faithful picture Jarvis Landry in a Patriots uniform?

"“The Cleveland Browns will trade Jarvis Landry — and not OBJ — to the New England Patriots,” Ninkovich said during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday. “So, watch out. Cam (Newton) is going to have a target in Landry, and everyone’s going to be super afraid of that one.”"

You might think the Browns would never consider trading either of their two stud receivers, but the first two games of the season suggest they don’t plan on asking Baker Mayfield, who was genuinely woeful in 2019, to win games. The likes of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt form one of the best running back tandems in the NFL, and they’ve really been a prominent focus of the offense under new head coach Kevin Stefanski thus far, logging a combined 55 carries through two games.

And, not to pry, but even if Chubb and Hunt can drive the offense, is the team’s defense strong enough to justify them as contenders anytime soon?

Assuming that trend continues, the Browns could be convinced to part ways with either one of Beckham or Landry in order to bolster other areas of their roster. If we had to compare the two, we’d objectively say the former evidently has a higher ceiling than the latter. However, he also comes with WAY more baggage as far as locker room distractions are concerned.

https://twitter.com/PFF_Patriots/status/1305915496693366785

Furthermore, you could argue that Landry has been more consistent throughout his career than Beckham, who’s really become nothing more than a deep threat since being traded to the Brownsn last offseason. Landry vastly outperformed his former LSU teammate in 2019, recording more targets (138), receptions (83), yards (1,174) and touchdowns (six). Essentially, he could be a super-sized version of what Mohamed Sanu was supposed to be, in a far better version of New England’s offense.

Not only is Landry the more productive player, but he’s also far less detrimental to locker room morale.

It happened, folks: We’ve managed to talk ourselves into wanting Landry on the Patriots, so we really hope Ninkovich’s (extremely confident!) prediction comes to fruition.

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