Arkansas Bengal Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Bengals mail Part 2: Dorial Green-Beckham to Cincy? March, 29, 2015 Mar 29 9:00 AM ET By Coley Harvey | ESPN.com CINCINNATI -- Yes, it's true. A couple seasons ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were willing to look beyond Adam Jones' past troubles to sign him, hoping that everything would turn around. They also were comfortable taking a gamble on Vontaze Burfict following his own stretch of bad post-college publicity, signing him as an undrafted free agent. But that was then, this is now. The Bengals might have a history of taking on players with checkered pasts, but it doesn't necessarily mean they want to continue doing that. Intrigued? Read on. It's with this that we begin Part 2 of this weekend's mailbag: @nflnetwork mocked Dorial Green-Beckham to the #Bengals. Don't you think the risk is too high for him at 21? @ColeyHarvey. Thanks for the question, Mitchell. First of all, let's look at the "risks" that are being associated with Dorial Green-Beckham. He was part of two incidents involving marijuana while at Missouri, including one in which he was arrested and booked on the charge of possession with the intent to distribute. The charge never stuck, but the whole scenario sounded pretty bad. His alleged involvement in an altercation with a friend of his girlfriend sounded bad, too. Green-Beckham was alleged to have pushed the female friend down four steps after barging into her apartment. Charges were never filed, but the incident forced Missouri to kick Green-Beckham out of school. Needless to say, any team interested in drafting Green-Beckham will have to do serious homework on him and his legal issues. They will need to be sure such events won't be repeated as a pro. They also will need to be sure they get a balanced understanding of who he is, both as a player and a person. As far as the other risk -- drafting him at No. 21 when he doesn't fully suit the Bengals' needs -- that is a problem. More of a jump-ball deep threat, Green-Beckham doesn't fit what the Bengals are looking for at receiver. They want speedy home-run threats, but they want those players to be smaller, shifty slot types. Green-Beckham is 6-foot-5. Combine that poor fit with the off-field stuff, and it doesn't really make sense for Cincinnati to take such an early gamble. Yes, the Bengals got Burfict, but he went undrafted. It's a different proposition drafting a player with baggage in the first round. everyone worried about getting blocking TE. Everyone forget about Hewitt last year? Great blocker and has hands to boot! @ColeyHarvey. It's understandable why some Bengals fans might be a little concerned about the tight end position, Michael. Right now, the Bengals don't have anyone in that role. Jermaine Gresham still isn't under contract and will have to undergo rehab from a back surgery last week. As was mentioned earlier this week, the Bengals haven't quite closed the door on re-signing him. He's been their best off-the-line option as a tight end blocker in recent seasons. As for Ryan Hewitt, he might very well have been the Bengals' best non-offensive lineman blocker in 2014. But he's not considered a tight end, and head coach Marvin Lewis confirmed this week that he wanted to keep Hewitt at H-back. That means they still need an off-the-line blocking tight end. Considering the free-agency well is dry and the draft is largely devoid of such tight ends, that's worrisome. with Hill likely to get bulk of carries, will we see Gio get more time as a return man? @ColeyHarvey. I wouldn't go so far as to say Jeremy Hill will get the bulk of carries, Brian. Not yet, at least. It's still early on the offseason calendar. We'll have a better idea of what the Bengals' plans are for him and Giovani Bernard when training camp gets going in August. That said, assuming the Bengals do stick with using the formula that made them successful late in the year -- having Hill operate as the bell-cow back while Bernard fulfilled a secondary role -- it might make sense to let Bernard log more time on the return teams. But it likely won't happen. There's a reason the Bengals are looking for draft targets who can have impact in the return game. Tyler Lockett, Mario Alford and Jamison Crowder are some of the receivers the Bengals are exploring who have returner's ability. If the Bengals land the returner they want, Bernard can stay fresher for offense, where he can be a good change of pace from Hill to be used in space. W/$22M in the tank, why not try 2 sign Zeitler now 4 Boling $, & sign exts for the guys you'll depend on for '16, like Sean W? @ColeyHarvey. The Bengals certainly have some big free-agency decisions looming with 12 key contributors from last season's team all eligible to sign elsewhere at the end of this coming season. Kevin Zeitler isn't the only one. A.J. Green, George Iloka, Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Reggie Nelson, Adam Jones and Leon Hall are among the many whose contracts are soon expiring. If anybody gets extended this offseason to allay some of next year's signings it will be Green. Perhaps it would be best to lock down Zeitler now, but they don't have to. He could at least receive a fifth-year option for the 2016 season that would be worth more than one year on Clint Boling's new deal. Besides, Zeitler's next long-term deal probably will be worth more than Boling's. After all, Zeitler was a first-round pick; Boling was a fourth. Zeitler also had a solid first three seasons. Also, the remaining salary-cap money you see doesn't really equal money to spend. Per Bengals math, much of it will go toward other expenditures such as paying drafted players, practice-squad players, injury protections and offseason workouts. At this point, the Bengals only have their $8.6-million rollover to work with as far as agreeing to extensions covering the 2015 season. Extensions might come this summer, but Zeitler might not be one of them. http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tigre Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 BJ's head is exploding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 @ColeyHarvey. I wouldn't go so far as to say Jeremy Hill will get the bulk of carries, Brian WTF guy everyone and their soccer fanatic foreign cousin knows there's maybe two ways Hill doesn't get the bulk of the carries and even he knows better than to jinx homeboy by listing them. While I'm on the subject, Kyle Caskey has done an excellent job IMO. Our RB group is pretty stacked & I hope Hue finds a way to use all those guys. Like, 2 of them on the field a lot of the time, whether it's Hill/Hewitt or Gio/Burkhead or however. Any one of those guys can catch the ball or pick up a few yards. Haven't heard much this offseason about re-re-re-re-recommitting to the run, so maybe we'll start running the ball every chance we get. Get Dalton out of the pocket more, for that matter. Yeah or better yet out of the country, nyuk nyuk. Spare y'all the trouble there. :offtopic: If not DGB someone good enough to push for the #3 right away, at worst. No more projects or redshirts in the top rounds of the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrid Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 WTF guy everyone and their soccer fanatic foreign cousin knows there's maybe two ways Hill doesn't get the bulk of the carries and even he knows better than to jinx homeboy by listing them. While I'm on the subject, Kyle Caskey has done an excellent job IMO. Our RB group is pretty stacked & I hope Hue finds a way to use all those guys. Like, 2 of them on the field a lot of the time, whether it's Hill/Hewitt or Gio/Burkhead or however. Any one of those guys can catch the ball or pick up a few yards. Haven't heard much this offseason about re-re-re-re-recommitting to the run, so maybe we'll start running the ball every chance we get. Get Dalton out of the pocket more, for that matter. Yeah or better yet out of the country, nyuk nyuk. Spare y'all the trouble there. :offtopic: If not DGB someone good enough to push for the #3 right away, at worst. No more projects or redshirts in the top rounds of the draft. I think we're almost definitely going to draft 2 WRs this year. One of them in the first 3 rounds. And then probably another in round 3 to 7. Figure the depth chart looks like this and we keep 6: Green Jones Sanu/1st rookie Sanu/1st rookie Wright 2nd rookie The later pick will probably be either a return specialist or a high upside project type guy (I really like Conley from UGA) with a ton of speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 I hate to judge a guy by his game log, but I went back and watched some DBG and watched about half of the video show him abusing UK. Went and checked out the game log and the guy only had a handful of good games in college and a lot of meh's. I like his size/speed combo, but he's coming out of a Mizzou spread offense where he didn't even put up great numbers. At this point on DGB, I think the risk is too great for the potential award. I'd almost go with a true burner like Perriman if they go WR early, but I'd try to stay away from taking one in round 1 altogether and address the looming OT issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 By Coley Harvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 BJ's head is exploding. DGB is the BEST WR in this entire draft class. The size and speed of Magatron, yes with the decision making acumen of Dez Bryant. He smoked pot and pushed a woman in college, if I remember correctly Jeremy Hill also had a red flag of an underage relationship or something, and he's been fine in Cincy. Hell, Famous Jameis likely raped a woman, and he's going #1 overall. No other WR in this draft has DGB's combination of size and speed. Once he is taught proper technique by NFL coaches, he will be special ... write it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 There is a reason that DGB was the #1 player in the nation when he left HS and considered by some scouts to be the "Best High School Wide Receiver Ever." [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tynxBw4dhFo[/media] Takes a screen pass 80 yds ... hits his head on the rim dunking in basketball ... wins track races like Usain Bolt ... ... standing backflip for shits and giggles :pooh_go: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 DGB before Missouri ... - Green-Beckham was the first wide receiver to be named USA Today Offensive Player of the Year since Andre Hastings in 1989. - DGB was also the first wide receiver to ever win the Hall Trophy. - Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming called Green-Beckham the best wide receiver prospect since Randy Moss. - DGB was named the Sporting News High School Athlete of the Year. - As a HS sophomore in 2010, Green-Beckham captured the Missouri Class 4 State Track titles in the 100 meters and triple jump. - In HS became the nation's all time leading high school receiving yards leader. Just as a senior, Green-Beckham had 119 receptions for 2,233 yards with 24 touchdowns. - He was offered free rides to Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, but choose Missouri to be close to home. Had he gone to Alabama, he would have easily put Amari Cooper's ass on the bench. - He was dismissed based on off the field crap, not his play. Put his talent on a BCS top 5 school and I think he would have really shined, free from triple coverage every play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocalBengalEd Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Perriman is a way better receiver then DGB. He reminds me of Dez Bryant or Brandon Marshall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Perriman is a way better receiver then DGB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 NFL Video behind the scenes of DGB's Pro Day --> http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/0ap3000000481783/On-the-Clock-Dorial-Green-Beckham-takes-on-pro-day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Dorial with adoptive parents John and Tracy Beckham. Dorial Green-Beckham tops our 49th annual list — but he’s had to overcome some huge obstacles along the way. Dorial Green-Beckham, an 18-year-old wide receiver at Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Mo., has a smile almost as wide as his barn-broad shoulders, but you won’t see it when he’s talking about his childhood. “Growing up, there weren’t a lot of choices,” he says. Sometimes not even the choice of where to sleep at night. The third of six kids born to a struggling single mother, he bounced from motel rooms and vans to living in foster homes and with relatives, shuttling between his native St. Louis area and Springfield. That all changed in 2006, when Hillcrest head football coach John Beckham and his wife, Tracy, opened their home to Dorial and his younger brother Darnell. John and Tracy have fostered 20 or so children over the years, including Dorial’s older brother Sam, whom they’d taken in just a few months earlier. And even though they were raising five other kids at the time and Tracy was battling thyroid cancer, they made room. “When you’ve been in the [foster] system long enough, you know there is not another person waiting in line behind you,” says Tracy. Things were rocky at first. Dorial was “withdrawn,” says John. “He didn’t have a whole lot of confidence in himself.” He found his stride his sophomore year, winning state track championships in both the 100-meter dash and the triple jump and leading his basketball team to a state title. But it was on the football field that the 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior known as DGB really shone, shredding records almost as fast as he went through boxes of breakfast cereal. In the fall, he wrapped up his high school career with 6,447 total receiving yards, breaking a national record nearly as old as he was. It’s the kind of talent that inspires comparisons to NFL greats like Randy Moss and sputtering from scouts and recruiters: “Stunning.” “Scary good.” “Arguably the best athlete in the country.” CBS Sports prep analyst Tom Lemming says that Dorial is among the greatest high school players he’s ever seen. In a nationally televised game on ESPNU in August, Dorial caught 18 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns in Hillcrest’s 48-26 win over Seneca High School. Among those watching was Philadelphia Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin, who tweeted, “dude is a flat-out beast.” http://communitytable.com/89989/brianmclaughlin/football-team/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|schotzee| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 You're starting to sell me on him for sure BJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 This is probably the only guy in the draft I am certain I don't want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocalBengalEd Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 This guy has more baggage then a 747 Jumbo jet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrid Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Here's a DGB scouting report from a guy named Matt Harmon, who scouts and writes about WRs almost exclusively: As we get deeper into the process, it appears that the talk of this being a poor draft class at the top, will only grow louder. There does not appear to be a transformative prospect in the bunch. The task of even picking out more than a handful of strong ones comes with a fair amount of difficulty. However, there is one player who fits the bill of a terrific, high-end NFL prospect. Dorial Green-Beckham, by way of Universities Missouri and Oklahoma, has everything evaluators look for when scouting wide receivers for the NFL. The trouble is, he also has major red flags in his legal background, and the rumors about his character are beyond damning. Did you notice he is “by way of” two schools? Green-Beckham was dismissed from Missouri in the wake of multiple drug-related issues, and a domestic incident charge. He promptly transferred to the University of Oklahoma, but never played a down before declaring for the NFL Draft. Keeping the character concerns in mind are vital if you’re in the business of predicting when a player might hear his name called during the NFL Draft. That is not, nor has it ever been, the goal of Reception Perception. That part of his NFL projection evaluation is very important, but will not be taken into regard here. As always, this methodology will strip away the noise, and focus solely on the player as an individual entity on the football field. When you indulge in that exercise, you will find yourself caught up in the siren song of his enormous talent. Disclaimer: usually a full season profile of Reception Perception works through eight games of a receiver. Unfortunately, with the scarcity of all-22 footage available on college prospects, that was not possible. For the purposes of this profile, we’ll be working strictly off Dorial Green-Beckham’s 2013 games against Arkansas State and Toledo. I personally have watched and scouted more games of his than just these, and they are a factor in my opinion. However, all Reception Perception figures cited in this article will be exclusively taken from the cited games. ALIGNMENT DATA Dorial Green-Beckham is a physical specimen. Listed at 6’5, with a lean 237-plus pound frame and long arms, the mercurial wideout was cut from stone to play the position. From a pure size, dimensions, and skillset standpoint, Green-Beckham is along the same archetype as Julio Jones, A.J. Green and the player Andre Johnson once was. As such, he plays the same receiver position. Through out the Reception Perception series, we’ve seen that teams want their biggest, most athletic receivers in the X position. Missouri lined up Dorial Green-Beckham on the left side of the field an eye-popping 95.8% of his snaps from this two game sample. They put him in the slot on the rare occasion, but those instances were few and far in-between. The majority of his snaps (75%) saw him aligned on the line of scrimmage, as well. An imposing physical presence on the field, Dorial Green-Beckham fits right into the mold of the traditional X-receiver. As most of his snaps took place on the left side of the field, and on the line of scrimmage, that is indeed the position he played in college. TARGET DATA In the Previous Reception post, featuring Amari Cooper, we discussed the possibility that college prospects would have over-inflated target per route percentage figures. Cooper’s was exceedingly high, coming in at 43%. The theory was that college offenses overused their great wide receivers even more than NFL offenses. Interesting enough, Dorial Green-Beckham was targeted on 21% of his routes, much less of a rate than Amari Cooper. We’ve already concluded Cooper is a good prospect, but talent-wise Green-Beckham is billed as his superior. So, it seems curious why Missouri would not (seemingly) make better use of their major weapon. To provide context to his target per route percentage figure, 21% is not a strikingly low number. High-end number one NFL wide receivers, in pass heavy offenses, typically average in the upper-twenties. However, a figure in the lower-twenties is not too alarming. This is especially true over a small sample size, and remember, this study qualifies as such since we are only working off two games. Green-Beckham’s 21% target per route rate is only surprising due to how it contrasts with Cooper’s. There are some potential reasons why Dorial Green-Beckham was not targeted as heavily as Cooper. One of which was the nature of the offense he played in. Whereas Alabama runs a pro-style system, their SEC rival Missouri Tigers operate a rather stripped down system. There are a number of read option looks in the running game, and the passing concepts are rather basic. They run a typical college spread system, and their quarterbacks usually work off their first read. If Green-Beckham’s number was not called from the onset of the play, the quarterbacks likely were not going to find their way to him. It’s also fair to say that the last time we saw Dorial Green-Beckham on a football field, there was still some rawness to his game. We’ll discuss his route work in-depth later on, but he certainly was no artisan in that department during his 2013 season. Green-Beckham can create separation, and torment cornerbacks with the best of them, but being in just the right place at the right time was not always his strength. His, at times, lackadaisical routes often found him at an inadequate depth of the field. He also had an occasional drop or two. Green-Beckham, in this sample, dropped a pass on 7.7% of his targets. Again, this is not an egregious number, or anything to sound an alarm over. However, a 7.7% drop rate does at least point to there being some concerns over lapses in a receiver’s game. CONTESTED CATCH SUCCESS RATE With 12 contested catch situations in five games charted, we received a good glimpse into Amari Cooper’s ability in this phase of the game in the last Reception Perception prospect profile. With only a two game sample size to work with on Dorial Green-Beckham, we do not have that same luxury. However, it’s not impossible to extrapolate and try to make conclusions: In the two games charted, Dorial Green-Beckham went up for three contested catch attempts. He came down with two of the three—coming out to a 66.7% success rate. As mentioned, this is a limited sample size. Yet, getting caught up in that would be foolish. Scouting the rest of the tape available on him, this success rate would likely hold up, or fluctuate on a minimal amount, over an extended study. Sporting his massive frame, and ability to extend for off-target passes, its no surprise Green-Beckham excels at the catch point. He has the physical mindset, my ball mentality and strength in traffic a man of his imposing size should. Green-Beckham knows he’s big, and he plays like it. He combines these “big” traits with outstanding leaping ability and body control in the air. No doubt, Dorial Green-Beckham checks the vast majority of the boxes when it comes to a “play the ball in the air” wide receiver. Of course, the former Missouri wideout did not post a 100% success rate. That carries over to his other tape. There are times when Green-Beckham fails to haul in a catch in a highly contested situation. These are the outliers, but they do speak to some focus and timing issues in his game. He does not always run routes to the precise location, and is therefore put out of position to properly play the ball in the air. While a strong catcher, technique-wise, Green-Beckham could stand to improve his timing when shooting his hands up to make a contested catch. These are small, likely correctable mishaps, and they are not the norm. Projecting Dorial Green-Beckham to the NFL is an easy task. It’s hard to imagine these positive attributes not carrying over to the next level. He looks like an NFL receiver when playing the ball in the air, more often than not. ROUTE ANALYSIS AND SUCCESS RATE VERSUS COVERAGE DATA Some of the numbers in Dorial Green-Beckham’s collection of target data hinted at certain elements of rawness in his game. I believe a 7.7% drop rate, and catch rate below 70% allude to issues as a “depth route runner”. Being too deep or shallow in his patterns confused a less than stellar quarterback, and thus made the throws, and catches, more difficult. When we last saw Dorial Green-Beckham, it was fair to classify him as more potential than proficiency as a route runner. Despite that criticism, the young wideout displays all the traits you want to see when scouting route runners at the position: Dorial Green-Beckham’s Route Percentage Chart will be the most surprising piece from his Reception Perception study. He is billed by most, whether due to Missouri’s offensive design or his ability, to be mostly just a screen and nine-route runner. Again, two games and only 62 routes is a small sample, but looking at his Route Percentage Chart, that reputation may be overblown. The nine-route was the most frequently run in the two games charted. This is not surprising. The same was true in Amari Cooper’s case—both have an identical percentage figure of 19.4% on nines—and Green-Beckham is an even better deep threat projection. Green-Beckham’s natural speed is evident, and he can just run by corners. Add in the fact he is 6’5, and he’s a lethal threat on vertical routes. There’s no reason to mark his high percentage of nine-routes as a negative, because this is where he is most dangerous. Outside of that figure, the rest of his Route Tree Percentage Chart is surprisingly more balanced than expected. While Dorial Green-Beckham never ran and out or corner route, and was rarely called to go out on digs, he tried a little bit of everything else. Slant and curl routes were the next most frequently run, both coming in at 17.7% of his 62 routes. Seeing the slant route so highly represented should surprise no one who has followed Reception Perception. When profiled this season for Footballguys, Julio Jones had a 22.7% frequency figure for slants, while Josh Gordon came in at 21.9%. Both are players Dorial Green-Beckham compares to favorably. When football teams (college or professional) have a big wide receiver that presents such a physical mismatch, they often employ a “get the ball in his hands” approach. One easy way to accomplish that goal is to dial up plenty of slant routes. This pattern is an easy one for receivers to run, but still puts them in space. The size advantage of these stud wide receivers puts them in excellent position to shield defenders from the ball, while their quickness and speed helps them earn ample separation and ability to create after the catch. Much like his NFL counterparts, Dorial Green-Beckham is the type of talent where a team will try to feed him easy catches on slants. The hope will be he can harness his physical gifts and rip through defenses on these routes, as Gordon and Jones have. Dorial Green-Beckham’s Route Tree Percentage Chart, from this two game sample, is a little more balanced than anticipated. While still limited, it is similar to NFL players who also fall within his archetype. Now, we’ll use the Route Tree Success Chart to see just how well he performed on each pattern: (SRVC denotes success rate versus coverage for each route. PTS indicates how many PPR fantasy points a receiver earned on each particular route) Gaining separation comes easy to Dorial Green-Beckham. His movements are effortless, and they’re especially stunning given his size. He can make a slight twitch at the break, or stopping point, of a route and leave cornerbacks reeling trying to catch up to him. Green-Beckham occasionally displays the advanced moves a receiver needs to thrive, but even on pure potential, he gets open on just about every brand of route. The nine was Green-Beckham’s most frequently run route from this two game sample, and he posted a 66.7% SRVC score on them. Going a little qualitative here, Green-Beckham’s 66.7% SRVC on nines are probably strictly the result of his physical advantage. On most of these deep patterns, he just runs by a defender, and makes the catch at a height they simply cannot hope to reach. At this point, he’s yet to show any advanced craftsman-like techniques to free himself from coverage on these routes. He’ll need work at the NFL level in learning how to use his foot frequency on stop and go deception moves, and some work releasing at the line of scrimmage. Some of his losses on the other 33.7% of his nines can be attributed to this. While, I’ve written about my concerns with Julio Jones being a tad too robotic in his movements to ever develop in the fine crafts of the position, those concerns do not spill over to Dorial Green-Beckham. The former Missouri wideout may be even smoother through his in-route movements than the wildly successful Jones. With proper coaching, and provided he takes to it, Green-Beckham should absorb these finer points sooner rather than later in his NFL career. Green-Beckham posted high SRVC scores on the routes that asked him to break back to the quarterback. He ran a comeback on 9.7% of his 62 routes, and a curl on 17.7% of them. He posted SRVC scores of 87.5% and 90.9%, respectively. Along with the previously discussed slant (81.8% SRVC), curls and comebacks are two routes where Green-Beckham can use both his size and athletic advantage. You can see him both box out defenders when they stick with him through the turn, or simply use a quick twitch or long stride and hip flexion to separate from them at the hitch. Dorial Green-Beckham, in the two games charted, showed the ability to create separation on every brand of route he was assigned. All of his SRVC per route scores were quite strong, but he had the most production on nines and “other” routes. Green-Beckham amassed nine catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns in these two games. Looking at his PTS marks, we can see he scored two of the touchdowns on vertical routes, while the third came on an improvisational “other” route. The rest of his catches were just simple, shorter gains. While we now know Dorial Green-Beckham can get open on just about any route on the tree, let’s take a look at how he performed against different brands of coverage: The big wideout faced 36 man coverage attempts in the two games charted. He defeated his coverage 86.1% of the time. When facing zones he posted an 83.3% SRVC score. Both of these success rates are very high, and lend more credence to his excellence as a separation player. Even more encouraging, Green-Beckham still managed to get free when Toledo or Arkansas lent an extra man to cover him. He posted a sterling 90.9% SRVC score against double coverage. The one concern here is his 11.1% SRVC against the nine press attempts. As he is a big wide receiver, you would not expect Dorial Green-Beckham to struggle with jams or bump and run coverage. The issue does not lie with his size. We’ve harped on the issue of rawness, and when we last saw him on the football field, Green-Beckham still struggled consistently releasing from the line of scrimmage. Again, this is a more of a lack of reps, and technical proficiency, rather than a mental makeup, or physical issue. With that in mind, we have hope—albeit no certainty—that he can develop in this sector of the game. TACKLE BREAKING Similar to the contested catch success rate measurement, this two game sample did not provide much in the way of open field attempts. Dorial Green-Beckham was dropped on first contact on all of his three open field attempts from this sample. Green-Beckham will never be mistaken for a Percy Harvin or the Anquan Boldin of old when it comes to physicality after the catch. He sports a long and lean frame, which makes him an excellent bet to snare passes out of the air, but an easy target to wrap up in the open field. While this number will not make evaluators smile, it is not overly concerning either. His ability to create separation, and speed with the ball in his hands, will be how he makes big plays. Yards after the catch will never be his greatest strength, but he won’t be a liability there, either. TRANSLATION AND THE BOTTOM LINE In a draft class in which projection ambiguity seems to grow by the day, Dorial Green-Beckham will be one of it’s biggest mysteries. With earned, and intense character questions, its impossible to project him being drafted in line with where his talent would deserve. However, talent and performance is all we can measure with Reception Perception. While Reception Perception looked favorably on Amari Cooper, his numbers paled in comparison to Dorial Green-Beckham’s. I believe that is in line with reality when comparing the two side-by-side as prospects. When strictly judging on the basis of ability and talent at the wide receiver position, Dorial Green-Beckham is the clear top prospect at the position in the 2015 NFL Draft. There will be other factors that cloud that, but it does not change the player. As a wide receiver, an individual football player, Dorial Green-Beckham is the complete package. His on-field athletic profile is outstanding, and his performance at the Scouting Combine next week will only confirm that. The wild dimensions he sports, and knows how to use, are fantastic. We saw through this study that he knows how to earn separation. He posted positive SRVC scores on all of his routes run in the sample, and beat man and zone coverage at over 80% success rates. While he’s easy to like before the ball arrives, he can win scouts over when the pass reaches him. Dorial Green-Beckham only had three contested catch attempts in this two game sample, but he did win two of them. If you watch his tape from the 2013 game against Kentucky, you’ll see that his 66.7% success rate would only extrapolate, or even improve, in a larger sample. This player checks every box you’d want in a wide receiver prospect. Even with all that shine, Dorial Green-Beckham is not a complete on-field product. His 7.7% drop rate speaks to some lapses in focus—both in route depth and in catching concentration. A very poor 11.1% SRVC against press reminds that he still needs a ton of work in releasing from the line of scrimmage. The other, and much more sterling, SRVC scores were mostly achieved by pure physical dominance, not the product of tireless work by a craftsman. Is Dorial Green-Beckham as projection? Absolutely, but this is true of all draft prospects. What we do know is that Green-Beckham has not yet hit his ceiling. Whether he will ever approach that vast standard, is anyone’s guess. The specter of evaluating old tape, on top of the character concerns makes this a tricky endeavor. However, just because the film is from 2013, does not change who the player is and can be. And if he were squeaky clean, Dorial Green-Beckham would easily be a top-5 prospect in this draft class. Come draft day, some team will remember all of his fantastic tape. They will hear the siren song, and be unable to resist taking a card with his name up to the commissioner early in the draft. Much like many ill-fated sailors before them. It will be up to the structure he finds himself in, and his own choices, whether Dorial Green-Beckham makes his future team regret the day they docked their ship to the harbor of his career. As Reception Perception shows, the Green-Beckham experience could be a truly special one. A player falling along an elite archetype of wide receivers, he possesses the supreme gifts to change an offense. Here’s to hoping he does so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tigre Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 This should help any NFL team, the next time they play Arkansas State. (ducks head from incoming BJ missile) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Of course we all know that BJ's starry-eyed mancrush on this guy is the kiss of death to our chances of drafting him. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 However, there is one player who fits the bill of a terrific, high-end NFL prospect. Dorial Green-Beckham, We’ve already concluded Cooper is a good prospect, but talent-wise Green-Beckham is billed as his superior. Sporting his massive frame, and ability to extend for off-target passes, its no surprise Green-Beckham excels at the catch point. Green-Beckham knows he’s big, and he plays like it. He combines these “big” traits with outstanding leaping ability and body control in the air. Projecting Dorial Green-Beckham to the NFL is an easy task. It’s hard to imagine these positive attributes not carrying over to the next level. Gaining separation comes easy to Dorial Green-Beckham. His movements are effortless, and they’re especially stunning given his size. The former Missouri wideout may be even smoother through his in-route movements than the wildly successful Julio Jones. Dorial Green-Beckham is the clear top prospect at the position in the 2015 NFL Draft. As a wide receiver, an individual football player, Dorial Green-Beckham is the complete package. And if he were squeaky clean, Dorial Green-Beckham would easily be a top-5 prospect in this draft class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|BlackJesus| Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Layoff Zimmer !!! :1018: Reports: Dorial Green-Beckham, Marcus Peters to visit Vikings --> http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000482450/article/reports-dorial-greenbeckham-marcus-peters-to-visit-vikings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B. Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Why waste time getting Andy targets. Stack the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Why waste time getting Andy targets. Stack the line. While your reasoning is suspect, I agree with your conclusion. Puzzling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B. Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 While your reasoning is suspect, I agree with your conclusion. Puzzling... He'll have all of his targets back and healthy. That was everyone's excuse for last year. I'm not wasting picks I could use to build a foundation up front to attempt to throw a bandaid on the 8 inch gash that is Dalton. Especially when we already are gonna run with Sanu and MJ at 2 and 3 anyways. This team doesn't have competitions. Andy does better or leaves. Either way we have a line. Lol if he sucks more though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Especially when we already are gonna run with Sanu and MJ at 2 and 3 anyways. I've said before I'm not sold on Sanu as more than a Wildcat/WR4. MJ I'm definitely sold on but I want to see him make it through TC before I'd call him the #2 again. Either way, if AD goes backwards he's probably gone along with Marvin and the next guy is going to need WR's, too. WR in the first 3 makes sense to me either way but I always think half our picks should be on linemen of some kind. This team doesn't have competitions. I seriously doubt that's true, but I'm not in a position to know. Are you? They sure talked depth chart a lot on Hard Knocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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