2015 NFL Draft: A Closer Look at Dorial Green-Beckham
When NFL teams evaluate former Missouri wide receiver and Oklahoma Sooners transfer Dorial Green-Beckham for the 2015 NFL Draft, you can put money on it that this note will be at the top of the report:
Talented, but troubled.
That’s been the unfortunate case for the 6-foot-6, 225 pound former number one high school recruit in America. After making his commitment (somewhat surprisingly) to the Missouri Tigers when they weren’t all that good, Green-Beckham helped one of the newest SEC schools to a Cotton Bowl win in 2013, but was dismissed from the team this past offseason after originally being suspended for his alleged involvement in pushing a girl down four or more stairs.
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The charges were dropped, but Green-Beckham has also been in violation of the law for two marijuana arrests. After his dismissal from Missouri, Oklahoma and coach Bob Stoops took him in under specific circumstances including rehab and drug testing. He was also subject to a ‘zero tolerance policy’.
By all accounts, the tests were passed by the young football star in his time at Oklahoma, but the year ‘off’ prompted a decision to turn pro instead of actually ever suit up and play for the Sooners.
On the field, Green-Beckham is a beast. Off of it? That’s a different story entirely.
Scouts will not question this young man’s talent. He is big, long, athletic, a nightmare to cover in the red zone, and he catches the ball away from his frame with a catch radius that most cornerbacks can’t do anything about.
NFL teams are all about creating mismatches, and drafting this young man certainly would seem to present you with this opportunity, but it comes with a risk. As we’ve seen with Josh Gordon these last couple of years, sometimes the risk just isn’t worth it, even if someone with this kind of talent can make a Pro Bowl and lead the league in receiving for a year.
Teams will evaluate the risk of drafting Green-Beckham through extensive interviewing and the fact that he has an endorsement from Bob Stoops is a really good sign. The Sooners have taken on or tried to take on some troubled individuals and at least so far, it appears as though they positively contributed to Green-Beckham and vice versa.
It will be very exciting to see what team takes a shot on this young man, who has top 10 talent but perhaps by some teams’ standards an undraftable character. Will he wind up being a steal for someone, or will it be a risk taken in vain?