WR Dorial Green-Beckham NFL Draft Scouting Report

By Sayre Bedinger | Feb 21, 2015

Former Missouri Tigers wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham is one of the most intriguing, talented, and troubled players in this year’s crop of players. Green-Beckham was on his way to being a top 10 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft before off-field issues halted his college football career and eventually got him a spot on the Oklahoma Sooners roster.

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Training with Oklahoma this past season, Green-Beckham cleared his image up a bit, got himself right physically, and didn’t end up playing a down for the Sooners but declared for the 2015 NFL Draft.

After scouting Amari Cooper, I couldn’t think of a better way to clean the slate than watching Green-Beckham, who is the antithesis of Cooper in terms of pro-readiness. Physically, Green-Beckham has everything Cooper doesn’t. The football acumen is where Green-Beckham needs to show the most improvement, but it’s hard to not get excited about him watching his 2013 tape at Missouri as a sophomore.

What I love about Green-Beckham is the same for every other draft analyst or scout out there — he is a physical freak who can do special things on a football field.

What concerns me about Green-Beckham is what I think will prevent him from being great early on in his career, but if he gets his head on straight — and we have no reason right now to believe he hasn’t — I think this is the player at the wide receiver position with the highest upside.

Let’s have a look.

For Green-Beckham, especially on this tape, you can see his physical dominance. At 6-5, 237 pounds with a 4.49 second 40-yard dash, this is a guy who is not going to be covered one-on-one in any situation.

Where defensive backs will get to him is by out-smarting him. He runs sloppy, rounded-off routes and doesn’t have (at least at this point on tape) an NFL player’s route-running prowess. That could be attributed to laziness due to physical ability, but you hate to make assumptions. I’d say that one is pretty fair considering what we know about Green-Beckham.

He has more long speed, but when I watch Green-Beckham I can’t help but be reminded of Brandon Marshall. He is so strong after the catch, he has great length, and he has the ability to be physically dominant with quickness and speed.

If Green-Beckham develops as a route runner, he won’t be able to be stopped. He fights for extra yardage after every catch and secures the ball well.

Another thing he can struggle with is physical defensive backs. He doesn’t exert his strength against guys who test him physically, and it seems like it can get to his head a little and cause him to lose focus. Again, we haven’t seen him play in almost two years, so who knows how he has improved at this point…

Oh, and by the way, don’t let anyone tell you this kid can’t block. At least on this play…

That’s a nice effort right there.

This guy is so quick off the line and can change directions on a dime. I absolutely love what he brings to the table as a receiver with height, weight, speed, athleticism, catch radius, hands, catches the ball away from his frame, knows how to high point the ball, red zone mismatch nightmare — the whole nine yards.

The question is, can you trust this guy?

That is the biggest thing NFL teams are going to have to address this week and in their further evaluations.

I would grade him as the unquestioned, far and away No. 1 receiver in this class if not for off-field issues. His physical ability and WR traits are unmatched. He is raw, but talented. He is a superstar in the making… if he wants to be.

Green-Beckham’s future is entirely on his shoulders. Or, if you prefer a little more cheese — in his hands.