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Dynasty League Rookie Prospects: Oklahoma WR Dorial Green-Beckham

By Bruce Matson

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It’s another cold day in January, which is a good day to stay indoors and study some rookies in preparation for your 2015 rookie drafts. This week we take a look at Oklahoma Wide Receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, who declared for this year’s NFL Draft.  I will look at the tape and analyze his skill set, along with providing my opinion on how he should be handled in rookie drafts.

Jan 3, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (15) during the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2014 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Missouri won 41-31. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dorial Green-Beckham has impressive size at 6’6 225 lbs, which is one of the reasons why he is a very attractive prospect. With his size, Beckham has an amazing vertical. He out-jumps defenders effortlessly, while demonstrating terrific ball skills. Beckham is great at catching the ball at its highest point, which is going to make him a nightmare to cover in the endzone. He has enough speed to beat defensive backs, and enough short area quickness to get open on intermediate routes. Beckham has great hands and he can make contested circus-style catches. He’s a physically gifted athlete with elite size, but he is very raw with his route running.
Beckham’s sample size of college production is small. He only has his freshman and sophomore years to draw data from. His freshman season he caught 28 passes for 395 yards and 5 TDs, and his sophomore season he caught 59 passes for 883 yards and 12 TDs. During his sophomore season, he had 3 games where he had 100 or more yards receiving and 5 games where he had 5 or more receptions. All of his college production happened while attending the University of Missouri. If Beckham would have played this season for his junior season, we would have had a better indicator of what his potential as an NFL prospect.
Beckham has had a lot of legal issues during his short time in college. On October 3, 2012 Beckham was arrested for marijuana possession and was suspended for 1 game. On January 4, 2014 Beckham was arrested again on for possessing a pound of marijuana in his car. Beckham was dismissed from the University of Missouri, due to his legal issues and an alleged issue where he wasn’t charged when he pushed an 18 year old girl down the steps. Beckham transferred to the University of Oklahoma later that summer, and had to sit out during the 2014 season due to transfer restrictions.
Beckham is a very talented prospect, and it’s not hard to fall in love with him. He has a very high ceiling and a very low floor. His ceiling is the best receiver in football, and his floor is a career comparable to Justin Blackmon’s, with being suspended multiple times. I think if you draft Beckham, you have to expect the first season to be a developmental year for him because he is very raw and will need to fine tune his route running. There’s a chance that he could have a successful rookie season, but I look for him to develop in year two and three of his career. Beckham’s value will go through the roof if he has a successful combine. A sub 4.4 40 yard dash will cause his stock to go up considerably. Currently, I have him graded at around 1.5 to 1.10 in rookie drafts, which I expect him to creep into the top 5 of a lot of drafts if he crushes the combine. Beckham’s legal history is very concerning, and I advise that you exercise caution when drafting him. His potential could be worth a top 5 rookie pick, but is it worth a top 5 rookie pick to find out whether he can keep his head on straight when there are safer options available?

If you want me to do a write up of any draft eligible skill player of your choice, please leave an inquiry in the comment section or message me on Twitter @bmatz08 and I will do a write up for you and post it on the site.

Next: Who Are The Best WRs In The 2013 Class?

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