Titans aim big, pick troubled receiver Dorial Green-Beckham in second round
It just seems like this Tennessee Titans draft will be the one they talk about for years or the one they spend years trying to forget, with no in-between.
Second overall pick Marcus Mariota is a great talent but not without risk. Many wonder how the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback will transition to the NFL game from Oregon. And the Titans doubled down on high upside by picking one of the biggest wild cards in the draft, receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, in the second round on Friday. The Titans did so after trading down from the 33rd pick in the draft, getting a couple extra picks (a fourth and a seventh) from the New York Giants to move down to No. 40. The Giants took safety Landon Collins at No. 33.
Green-Beckham’s talent is obvious. Physically, he’s unbelievable. He’s 237 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds. NFL Films’ Greg Cosell, in his pre-draft analysis, said a physical comparison to Calvin Johnson isn’t outlandish. That’s saying something. If Green-Beckham has matured, the Titans basically added two top-10 picks in this draft while picking up additional picks to get one of them..
But that’s the rub. Green-Beckham has plenty of red flags, and the biggest was an incident in which he allegedly forced his way into an apartment looking for his girlfriend and pushed another female down some stairs. That led to his dismissal at Missouri. He also had marijuana issues in college and sat out all of 2014 while redshirting at Oklahoma. This is not a safe pick.
But it is a pick that has plenty of potential. The Titans don’t have that great outside threat. Justin Hunter has shown flashes but hasn’t put it all together. Kendall Wright is a nice slot receiver. But Green-Beckham adds an entirely different dimension. He could end up being Mariota’s No. 1 target for many years, a thought that should get Titans fans excited.
That is, however, if Green-Beckham has no more off-field issues and has dedicated himself to being a great player. Nobody knows yet if that’s the case. But Tennessee was willing to invest a second-round pick to find out.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
