FanPost

Why the Seahawks should draft Dorial Green-Beckham

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It’s not often a player of this sort of ability comes along, it’s unheard of that a team that just made it to the Super Bowl could get a shot at drafting him.

I have a habit of making comparisons, so let’s just say he's closest thing I’ve seen to Megatron since, well, Megatron. If the 6,5 225lb wide receiver was to beast out in the NFL then perhaps Galvatron would be a fitting nickname…

Unlike Calvin Johnson, the bad-guy name might be apt for Green-Beckham; who was arrested on possession of marijuana twice in his college career (the second time they found a pound of it on him). I guess you could say at least he was doing his name justice?

That’s a little too distasteful, even for me. You see, he was born Dorial Green, the third of six children born to Chermelle Green. He never knew his father and at one point him and his five siblings were living in a van with their mother, out in Springfield, MO.

Without going into too many details about his family’s affairs (Mother and older Brother have served time, the latter for assault and drugs) we’ll just acknowledge that Dorial was up against it from the beginning.

After various failed fostering experiments, Dorial got the Beckham part of his name when an old high school football coach adopted him and his younger brother Darnell. But for John Beckham we probably wouldn’t have heard of Dorial, who finally had a positive fathering figure in his life.

Initially a basketball player (and a phenomenal one at that), John Beckham introduced Dorial to football as a freshman at high school. Supposedly not knowing what to expect, Green-Beckham’s first two catches went for 150 yards and 2TDs, though the second was called back for a penalty.

It was the start of a record breaking high school career that led to Green-Beckham being a 5-star recruit and committing to Mizzou. It had the makings of a fairy-tale story and Green-Beckham must have thought it was too good to be true.

And that’s exactly what it’s turned out to be, with various setbacks tarnishing what should have been one of the great college careers, and a seamless entry into the NFL.

In 2011, shortly after breaking his own state receiving record in his high school Junior year, his younger brother Darnell was diagnosed with a form of Leukemia, with his ultimately successful treatment lasting nearly three years.

Eighteen months following his brother’s diagnosis, Green-Beckham and two freshman teammates were found to be in possession of around an ounce of Marijuana. Then fourteen months after that he was said to be caught with a pound of the substance, with the apparent intent to distribute.

Three months following his last arrest he was dismissed from the University of Missouri for allegedly forcing open an apartment door and pushing a woman down several steps. This triggered a transfer to Oklahoma where Dorial Green-Beckham sat out the college season before declaring for the 2015 draft, as a Junior.

Whilst I’m not interested in defending the actions that have led to Green-Beckham’s current situation, it really is a wonder how a kid born into poverty, drugs and crime has even got this far.

Adopted at 13, he had five years of anything resembling normal family life before he was thrust into the spotlight and expected to be an independent, professional sportsman.

I can’t begin to think of the odds he overcame. But I guess he hasn’t overcome them, not yet. A solid combine and team interviews will go some way toward convincing scouts and coaches that he is serious about a career in the NFL, but it’s going to take more than that for him to make it.

It’s going to take an understanding team, one who can provide him with the right support, perhaps a team with a coach who has consistently displayed understanding for underprivileged and troubled youths, with an environment that lets players express themselves and learn from their mistakes as a means to improve. And for Dorial Green Beckham himself to buy in, this team would probably benefit from having already developed players from similarly adverse backgrounds into successful NFL players and professional human beings.

A team a lot like the Seattle Seahawks.

And so with that, let’s move onto the other important thing at stake here - Dorial Green Beckham the football player.

First off, he’s a freak. It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot when describing prospective NFL athletes but this guy really is one. Full-on circus material… ‘roll up, roll up, it’s the Dorial Green-Beckham show’. No 6,5 225lb human being should look as fluid and fast as that. He’s a natural. Scrap that, he’s unnatural.

The latest tape made available on draftbreakdown is the 2013 game against Indiana, the third game of his sophomore season. It’s already a good indication of what he’s capable of doing.

He gets plenty of cushion on his first catch and it's obvious from the start that the defense want to keep him in front of them (two weeks earlier he had aught four balls for over 80 yards against Murray State in his first sophomore game). It’s a simple catch and he takes the extra yards to convert the 2nd and 10.

The defense continue to give him space and so on 2nd and 6 the Tigers go play-action. Green-Beckham's man bites on the run, Dorial flanks out in space to receive the ball on an effective screen before running and getting hit at the first down mark. It's a legitimate tackle, but even as a Sophomore Green-Beckham is a man among boys and so he uses his momentum and length for an extra four yards. Another effortless 10 yard gain.

It's a successful early drive for Mizzou and they soon find themselves in the redzone with a first and goal at the seven. The Tigers stack three receivers to the left and keep a man in the backfield to keep the defense honest. Clearly this is a situation where you cant give Green-Beckham too much space and so we get to see him against some tighter coverage. He sets his route up pretty well with a little stutter to stall his man, before running by him toward the corner of the endzone.

The ball is actually a little underthrown but it doesn't matter because the db is more concerned about defending DGB, resulting in a pretty simple TD catch. A doomed coverage from the start.

The rest of the highlight video show the difficulty of defending the man. There's a nice catch and move for a first down on an outside slant, then we get to see what a dominant a blocker he can be, mauling guys back and boxing them out with precision (another tick on the Seahawks' checklist). There are a couple more examples of the danger of giving him too much space like when he takes a short catch and run for 17 yards on 1st and 10 (again effortless).

And then comes the play we've really been waiting for, and the kind of one that shows up in all his highlight videos. It's a shame we don't get the All-22 view on his 40 yard reception, but I guess it doesn't really matter. He's beats his man badly, owns the redline (another check) before taking a nice catch for a huge gain.

So in only his third start as a sophomore he's already looking like one of the more accomplished receivers in college football. He's shown an ability to set up his routes, beat man coverage, take advantage of cushions, catch the ball safely, block well and also displayed some solid YAC ability.

One thing we didn't see, and a common criticism, is his tendency to round off routes; a big no-no in Seattle's scrambling offense. However, if you go to the start of his Auburn game tape, you'll see him come back on a go-route when his QBs in trouble. It's only one example but shows the willing he'll need if he ends up a Seahawk.

I'm not going to go through the Auburn tape, but I recommend watching it, especially if you want to see a sophomore abuse a top team to the tune of 6 catches for 144 yards and 2TDs. It's extremely impressive and shows a couple more things we didn't get the opportunity to see vs Indiana; as well as his scramble route he shows off his ability to high point the ball (first TD) and protect it (on the big catch and run he switches the ball to his outside seamlessly and safely).

If you remain unconvinced or just want to see more then there's plenty to get excited about in his 4TD performance against Kentucky, as well as confirmation that as a team in need of a redzone target, Dorial Green Beckham should be at the top of the Seahawks' radar.

There's no doubt he has the potential to be one of the most dominant receivers in this league, and the type of receiving target Seattle needs (not just the redzone threat, but the guy that might put an end to Russell Wilson leading the league in throwaways despite having the fewest pass attempts). However, the arrests and suspension conceivably mean Dorial Green-Beckham will have to wait til the second day or beyond to hear his name called out. He represents a whopping risk in most eyes.

With that said, the Seahawks are set up to be competitive for a very long time, they have fewer needs than other teams and more draft picks. As a result, they have a fantastic opportunity to take more risks, more than any other team. Reverting back to my first paragraph, 'It’s not often a player of this sort of ability comes along, it’s unheard of that a team that just made it to the Super Bowl could get a shot at drafting him.'

The Seattle Seahawks should feel more comfortable about pulling the trigger on Dorial Green-Beckham than any other team that goes before them. If he doesn't work out, they're still going to be an excellent team. If he does work out, you'll have a #1 receiver on the #1 team in the NFL over the past three seasons, with a #1 defense, a #1 running game and one of the top QB's in the league. A frightening thought.

Of course, the off-field trouble that prevented on field appearances last season might well render him undraftable with some teams, as well as in the opinion of some fans. I can understand that opinion, but even if that's the case and if you don't view his background and upbringing as mitigating circumstances for his more recent troubles, I still believe the Seattle Seahawks will.

They were willing to spend a first round draft pick on Bruce Irvin; another play with a very adverse upbringing. And while Bruce Irvin was able to put it together on the football field in his draft year, assuming Dorial Green-Beckham stays clean from now up until the draft in May, it will have been over a year since he last got in trouble; some indication of his willingness to take himself and his career seriously.

The next indication will likely come at the combine later this month where once again all eyes will be on him. Given the improbable journey that will take him through Lucas Oil Stadium in a couple of weeks, I sincerely hope he can deliver himself admirably, and whether the next significant stop in his life comes in Seattle or not, I'm rooting for him.