Greg Cosell’s draft preview: Dorial Green-Beckham is a huge wild card

There aren’t many guys like Dorial Green-Beckham, in terms of size and his ability to move. In fact, in the NFL there’s probably only one: Calvin Johnson. I don’t think Johnson is an unreasonable comparison for Green-Beckham.

If Green-Beckham was clean off the field he’d be a top 10 or top 12 pick. But we know that’s not the case. Green-Beckham was dismissed from Missouri after many off-field incidents and then spent a redshirt season at Oklahoma before declaring for the draft. With that, he became the biggest wild card among the receivers in this draft class.

What complicates matters more, as we discuss the top receivers in this draft class outside of my top three (you can read about Amari Cooper, Kevin White and Breshad Perriman here), is that it’s hard to make lists when it comes to receivers. It’s hard to compare Green-Beckham to someone like Miami’s Phillip Dorsett. Receivers are different sizes, with different strengths, and they’re used in different ways. You wouldn’t compare Dez Bryant with Wes Welker in his prime, would you? That’s why it’s hard to just make a list of receivers.

But it is clear, looking at the limited film on Green-Beckham, that he is a very intriguing blend of size and movement. Here are my thoughts after watching film on the top receivers in the draft, and a couple of top tight ends as well:

Dorial Green-Beckham, Missouri/Oklahoma

If nothing else, Green-Beckham should make an immediate impact in the red zone. His size (6-5, 237 pounds) and ability to high point the ball will make him a weapon in the red zone. He will be very effective in the NFL on back shoulder throws, which will be great near the end zone. Green-Beckham not only has outstanding size, but great body control as well.

Green-Beckham can also be a deep threat. He is a big, long, smooth and fluid receiver who at times looked effortless eating up ground and getting on top of college corners. Green-Beckham’s size and stride length make him very deceptive as a vertical receiver; he’s not quick twitch or sudden but smooth and fluid. Green-Beckham did not consistently show a second gear on vertical routes, and is more often than not a one-speed vertical receiver, but stride length and ability to eat up yards compensated for that.

One question I have about him on the field is that he did not play very competitively. He relied on size and talent to make plays, and this is a big concern as he transitions to the NFL. My sense is he will be overwhelmed initially by the competitiveness and intensity of the NFL game.

There are a lot of physical tools to work with regarding his size and movement, so can they be harnessed and developed? How would you evaluate Green-Beckham compared to Mike Evans and Kelvin Benjamin? He’s more fluid than Evans, and he may be smoother than Benjamin. Is Green-Beckham a bigger Alshon Jeffery? That may be the best present NFL comparison. The better comparison overall may be Plaxico Burress. He has a lot of upside.

DeVante Parker, Louisville

Parker is long and lanky and is smooth and fluid in his movement. But he is not vertically explosive. He did not play as fast as he timed, and at his best as a short and intermediate route runner.

Parker does not have naturally light and quick feet, he’s more measured and methodical. At times he’s herky-jerky as a route runner. Parker showed some build-up speed but is not a quick in-and-out of breaks receiver. He has a long body with less than ideal lateral quickness. Parker showed good quickness coming off the line of scrimmage working against press man coverage, but he must get stronger. He also must become much more compact and refined as a route runner. There’s a lot of wasted motion in his routes.

Parker does have excellent body control, he can make contested catches in traffic, but overall I did not see Parker as the same level of prospect as Davante Adams coming out of Fresno State last year.

Phillip Dorsett, Miami (Fla.)

Dorsett is the most explosive receiver in this draft class. He’s more than just a vertical receiver, though he’s very good at that as well. The best comparison may be DeSean Jackson in regards to lifting the top off the coverage, but Dorsett is a more complete receiver than Jackson.

No receiver in this draft class can stick his foot in the ground and explode vertically like Dorsett. An instant accelerator with the ability to go from 0-to-60 in a heartbeat, Dorsett can take the top off any coverage. He easily runs by college corners. In addition to elite acceleration, Dorsett also has the body control to adjust to deep throws. He’s also tough to cover man-to-man on crossing routes, with the speed to leave corners trailing. He made some tough catches in the middle of the field, both throttling down in defensive voids and out-running man coverage.

There are similarities to both T.Y. Hilton and Antonio Brown with his smaller size and explosive movement. A big question will be if he is primarily a slot receiver in the NFL due to his size (5-10, 185 pounds), or can he line up outside with his elite speed?

Jaelen Strong, Arizona State

Strong has a lot of physical talent with excellent size and good overall movement but he’s not a sudden explosive mover. At this point Strong is not the kind of receiver you can line up outside the numbers and expect to win isolation routes versus quality NFL corners. He is not a refined route runner and will need to be taught how to be compact in his movement because there are too many moving parts; good coaching could help him a lot.

What Strong does well is he’s a big-bodied receiver with the ability to high point the ball and make contested catches. He has powerful hands at the catch point and attacked the ball in the air. That’s one of the strengths of his game. Strong also showed excellent body control and good hand-eye coordination to make tough catches.

Rashad Greene, Florida State

Greene is not naturally explosive, and not a true vertical receiver but he understands how to break down cushions and work corners. He’s a tight, compact fluid mover with smooth change of direction. There’s no wasted motion in his routes. He showed an understanding of how to run routes and set up corners, and is refined for a college receiver.

Greene worked the middle of the middle of the field very effectively, as a lot of his catches came inside on in-breaking routes. That projects well to the NFL.

Size and a thin frame prevents Greene from being a No. 1 receiver but he has a complete skill set with the exception of burner speed. There’s a part of me that sees elements of Isaac Bruce in Greene’s game, although Greene is a notch below Bruce in most areas.

Devin Smith, Ohio State

Smith is a vertically explosive receiver with the easy ability to run by college corners. Overall he’s a very fluid mover with an almost effortless stride; he flashed great quickness as a speed cut receiver. But at this point he will not win isolation routes outside the numbers against quality NFL corners.

Smith’s game right now is almost totally reliant on speed, with almost no nuance at all at this point. One question with Smith is how he will handle press coverage. Can he get off the jam and get into his routes? My strong sense is he will struggle against press coverage, because he’s long and lanky without much body strength. There’s little polish or refinement as a route runner, as he did not run many routes at Ohio State. There will be a long learning curve to understand the details and subtleties of NFL route running, but he has one commodity you cannot teach: speed.

Maxx Williams, Minnesota (TE)

As a tight end Williams is more of a receiver than a blocker, who at times lined up outside the numbers and ran vertical routes against corners. He showed speed to accelerate quickly down the seam when he had free access, and also showed the ability to make tough hands catches with a wide catching radius, which will be a plus in the red zone. He has the attributes of a receiving tight end.

Williams is a tenacious and willing participant as an in-line blocker, with a competitive playing personality. He plays to the whistle. Mostly though he’s a matchup tight end who can align all over the formation and dictate matchups for himself and other receivers. He’s not a fluid athletic mover like Julius Thomas or Jimmy Graham but he has plus athleticism and smooth route acceleration.

Clive Walford, Miami (Fla.) (TE)

If you want more of a combination blocker-receiver at tight end, Walford checks both boxes. He is a willing blocker in the run game, and effective as a strong-side run blocker.

In the passing game I think he’s a little more advanced and refined as a route runner than Williams, with deceptive quickness coming out of breaks. Walford is a little quicker as a route runner in and out of breaks than Williams, and worked the middle of the field effectively. He is not as fast a straight line accelerator as Williams. But Walford will fit some NFL teams more than Williams because of his more extensive experience as a run blocker and his ability to work effectively in the middle of the field in the pass game. He has the combination skill set and alignment versatility to be a starting tight end in the NFL.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.

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