August 17, 2016

Eagles Links: Mixed reviews for Dorial Green-Beckham trade

By Rich Hofmann
PhillyVoice Contributor

In terms of upside, it’s hard to believe that the Eagles came out on the short end of the Dorial Green-Beckham/Dennis Kelly trade. The 23-year-old Green-Beckham was the 40th pick of the draft just last season, has some interesting physical tools (mainly size and straight-line speed), and also put up 17.2 yards per catch while hauling in four touchdowns as a rookie.

Even if DGB doesn’t put everything together, the Eagles receivers looked dreadful in the preseason opener, up and down the depth chart. On the other side of the trade, Kelly wasn’t even the first choice to replace Lane Johnson on an offensive line with little in the way of depth, despite having the advantage of actually playing Johnson’s position.

For the Titans perspective, The Tennessean’s Jason Wolf wonders if GM Jon Robinson gave up on Green-Beckham too early:

The physically imposing Green-Beckham, listed at 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds, flashed tremendous ability as a rookie last season after being selected in the second round with the 40th pick overall. He appeared in all 16 games with five starts. He finished with 32 catches and led all Titans wide receivers with 549 yards and four touchdowns. He was a likeable locker room presence.
But the 23-year-old also struggled to learn the Titans’ offense. He frequently ran imprecise or incorrect routes, and often dropped passes when the ball hit him in the hands. Still, it’s fair to consider whether the Titans gave up on him too soon.

Although Green-Beckham's stats were decent and highlights looked good, it seems as if he had difficulty picking up the Titans offense. With possible mental hurdles in mind, the Daily News’ David Murphy writes that he might not be able to adapt to a new situation in Philadelphia on the fly. Maybe this could be a move more for the future than 2016:

It’s fair to wonder how quickly a player with Green-Beckham’s reputation will be able to pick up a new offense in a new situation. After all, it sounds as if he was still struggling to do so after more than a year with his old team. At the same time, his physical toolset is unquestioned. There’s a reason the Titans made him the 40th player drafted last spring. The takeaway: You probably shouldn’t pencil Green-Beckham into a prominent spot on the depth chart just yet.

In one of his observations over at The 700 Level, Andrew Kulp noted that Green-Beckham has the potential to be a special player. With this trade, the Eagles are betting on unlocking some of that untapped potential in his game:

The best part is he's only 23 years old. True, he needs to get stronger and focus on running better routes. There are concerns about his work ethic. He's a raw prospect overall, playing just two seasons at Missouri before declaring for the NFL. Seeing as he is so young though, there's still a lot of time for DGB to mature and develop. If he capitalizes on his opportunity, he could become a perennial 1,000-yard receiver for the Eagles for the better part of a decade.

It’s important to note that Green-Beckham has some serious red flags off the field (worst of all, an incident where he reportedly threw a woman down stairs, which got him thrown off the team at Mizzou). He’s a player that Chip Kelly likely wouldn’t have touched.

Bleeding Green Nation’s Ben Natan doesn’t believe in Green-Beckham as a player, but he’s more concerned about the direction the Eagles are heading in taking on players with past character issues:

This is poor football sense, it is worse people sense and it is not the first time the Eagles are going down this path this offseason. They drafted Jalen Mills, who has been popular in camp, despite his involvement in a domestic dispute while he was in college. They have prioritized performance over people, but not even performance, perceived upside as performance. There is nothing to suggest DGB has improved as a person or a player, but the Eagles are investing in the ceiling he has failed to hit year after year.