49ers nearly got Odell Beckham and Le’Veon Bell in the same offseason

NFL: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

Imagine if the San Francisco 49ers would’ve landed Odell Beckham Jr. and Le’Veon Bell in the same offseason…

The San Francisco 49ers have been trying to get back to being elite for the last couple of seasons now. It all started two years ago when they decided to make a trade with the New England Patriots for quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers figured they didn’t want to wait to draft a guy, so they acquired a somewhat, proven talent coming from a serious contender.

As it turns out, Jimmy G is pretty good. The Niners turned their season around when they got him, but by that time they were already out of playoff contention. However, that small stretch of games made it known to the 49ers that Jimmy G is their guy moving forward. So instead of trying to go through the process of scouting and developing a rookie, they just had to break the bank on Garoppolo, which failed in year one no thanks to his torn ACL.

Garoppolo will make it back to the field, as he isn’t the first guy to tear up his knee. But the 49ers attempted to make sure that they welcome back their hopeful savior with some new toys. While they have done an alright job in doing so, the Niners almost brought Garoppolo back into a ridiculously perfect situation with a top running back and wide receiver.

The Niners almost hit the jackpot

According to Tom Pelissero, the 49ers were the mystery team that had Le’Veon Bell making the New York Jets very nervous. As the Jets were the clear leaders in the money department for Bell, I’m sure a little part of him was nervous that he may be missing the playoffs for the next couple of years.

So when the 49ers attempted to make a late push for a deal, Bell was undecided. Most likely after he realized that his entire point of his holdout in 2018 was to get the guaranteed money that he desired, it was a no-brainer for Bell to take the money that the Jets were offering instead.

As for Odell Beckham, the 49ers were also serious contenders for him as well. As we know, the New York Giants were strangely eager to get rid of Beckham, hence the reason why the Cleveland Browns got him for a bargain. Beckham almost landed in San Francisco, but apparently, the 49ers weren’t interested in departing with the second-overall pick, which made it a make-or-break deal, according to Jay Glazer.

Instead, the 49ers ended up with Kyle Shannahan’s old buddy, Tevin Coleman in the backfield to add with their other young stars. The wide receiver position is still a bit of a question mark, but that’s what the draft is for. Also, the Niners upgraded their defensive line as well, so there’s that.

Not a bad offseason over in the Bay Area, but imagine what could’ve been if they landed Bell and Beckham. That would’ve been either a really dominant move or a colossal failure in the locker room. Now, I’m curious to find out if that would’ve actually worked out. I guess we never will.

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