2015 NFL Mock Draft: New Orleans Saints scoop up Dorial Green-Beckham

Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma

The New Orleans Saints have some huge holes to fill on their offense. They traded their super star tight end Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks for this 1^st round pick. In addition to losing Graham, they also traded their top receiver (statistically), Kenny Stills, to the Miami Dolphins. Graham and Stills ranked 1 and 2 on the team for receiving yards respectively. They combined for 1820 receiving yards, 148 receptions, and 13 touchdowns. It may be also worth noting the Saints have not had a receiver in the Pro Bowl since Joe Horn did in 2004. Insert Dorial Green-Beckham (aka DGB), the 6'5 former #1 nationally ranked WR coming out of high school, who averaged a touchdown every 5 receptions at Mizzou.

Strengths:

DGB has the physical tools to make him a very effective receiver in the National Football League. At 6'5 he runs a 4.49 (NFL.com) 40-time, and showed very soft hands during the NFL combine. As expected at his height he plays the ball in the air exceptionally well, while proving in his time at Mizzou that he is a remarkable red zone threat for a team. He is not the quick twitch type runner as many smaller receivers but he has some elusiveness for his size, and is faster than his 40 time may suggest. He always seems to come out of his breaks with a long explosive stride that often helps get him past defensive backs, then using his size to outplay the ball on them.

Weaknesses:

Character concerns will be most GM's biggest kryptonite with DGB. He was arrested 2 times for possession of marijuana, once in 2012, and then again in 2014. He was dismissed from Mizzou (practiced and attended at Oklahoma last season but could not play) for allegedly pushing a female down a set of stairs. With the NFL's new stance on domestic violence it is possible he could cause some to pause when looking at having him represent the team. On the field he has some drawbacks also. He does not posses the elite speed to break away from the speedy defensive backs in the league. On shorter/intermediate routes he does not really come back to catch the ball but allows it to come to his body, which leads to drops. And in some instances of him not fighting for the ball leads to corners jumping the route for interceptions (cough) Riley Cooper (cough). He also only played two years of college ball will attending Mizzou so inexperience is something that he has to face going forward.

NFL comparison:

Some scouts and GM's have compared his physical skills and play style to Julio Jones, and Megatron. Those are extremely high praises for a player that is pretty inexperienced at the position at a higher level. My comparison will be with Alshon Jeffery: a player that plays the ball very well, and is able to excel using his physical skills to out match smaller defensive backs.

Overall Critique

This young man is an interesting case. From a physical standpoint he has no limit to how incredible he can be on the field. As mentioned he has the attributes that with some practice and time he may be able to use to be a defensive coordinators nightmare. The biggest question mark about him has very little to do with his football ability, but more to do with discipline issues. It has yet to be seen if the problems he has had to this point are immaturity growing pains, which is a fixed that can be steered straight, or if they are a deeper issue. If it turns out to be the latter we may see him turn out to be an Eric Gordon-eque player: amazing when on the field, but having the problem of getting them on the field with legal problems/disciplinary issues. Adding Dorial to a receiving corps that includes speedster Brandin Cooks, and veteran Marques Colston would be a step in the right direction for a team that struggled much of the time last year in a very bad division.

Overall he a player worth taking the risk on. He is someone that with a little guidance can certainly stay on the right path, and excel both on the field and mentally as he grows. Being on a team with guys like Drew Brees leading the huddle, and Sean Payton coaching could help this guy realize that with the right mentality he has no ceiling and can do some amazing thing in the league for the next 10 years.

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zpWOO7TPeU

http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/statistics.html

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2028286/dorial-green-beckham

http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/531380/dorial-green-beckham

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/dorial-green-beckham?id=2552491

2015 BGN Mock Draft Order

1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (slickpablovick) - Jameis Winston, QB, FSU - [Explanation]
2) Tennessee Titans (mchiodo) - Leonard Williams, DE, USC - [Explanation]
3) Jacksonville Jaguars ("Snax") - Dante Fowler Jr., OLB, UF - [Explanation]
4) Oakland Raiders (kylebruneault) - Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama - [Explanation]
5) Washington Redskins (BigTimeTMZ) - Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon - [Explanation]
6) New York Jets (4thand26) - Kevin White, WR, WVU - [Explanation]
7) Chicago Bears (rohan915) - Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson - [Explanation]
8) Atlanta Falcons (GMinTraining) - Danny Shelton, DT, Washington - [Explanation]
9) New York Giants (Grandpapa Joe) - Landon Collins, S, Alabama - [Explanation]
10) St. Louis Rams (deg0ey) - Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa - [Explanation]
11) Minnesota Vikings (ablesser88) - Trae Waynes, CB, MSU - [Explanation]
12) Cleveland Browns (djcunningham) - DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville - [Explanation]
13) New Orleans Saints (del.champion) - Shane Ray, DE, Mizzou - [Explanation]
14) Miami Dolphins (drc242) - Jalen Collins, CB, LSU - [Explanation]
15) San Francisco 49ers (SleepingDuck) - Randy Gregory, OLB, NU - [Explanation]
16) Houston Texans (JaviYL) - La'el Collins, OT, LSU - [Explanation]
17) San Diego Chargers (StoneColeKiller58) - Bud Dupree, OLB, UK - [Explanation]
18) Kansas City Chiefs (jimmyrustler) - Andrus Peat, OT, Standford - [Explanation]
19) Cleveland Browns (NowWhat?) - Malcom Brown, DT, Texas - [Explanation]
20) Philadelphia Eagles (sports00fan00) - Jaelen Strong, WR, ASU - [Explanation]
21) Cincinnati Bengals (Zach_The_Gamecock) - T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pitt - [Explanation]
22) Pittsburgh Steelers (KJ Brophy) - Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon - [Explanation]
23) Detroit Lions (KamiKazeJEDI) - Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin - [Explanation]
24) Arizona Cardinals (ItownBallers22) - Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA - [Explanation]
25) Carolina Panthers (AndyMcNabb) - Shaq Thompson, LB, UW - [Explanation]
26) Baltimore Ravens (dceagles) - Byron Jones, CB, UConn - [Explanation]
27) Dallas Cowboys (kamjam) - Kevin Johnson, CB, WFU - [Explanation]
28) Denver Broncos (WubbaLubbaDubDub) - Jake Fisher, OT, Oregon - [Explanation]
29) Indianapolis Colts (ei78) - Cameron Erving, C, FSU - [Explanation]
30) Green Bay Packers (Nka727) - Benardrick McKinney, LB, MSSTATE - [Explanation]
31) New Orleans Saints (SwoopThereItIs) - D. Green-Beckham, WR, OU - [Explanation]
32) New England Patriots (naderg43) -