Tennessee Titans: WR Dorial Green-Beckham is X-Factor
By John Laird
How the offense progresses in 2016 will have a lot to do with the development of ‘DGB’ from year one into year two.
A lot has changed for the Tennessee Titans since they decided to select the freakishly tall and athletically gifted Dorial Green-Beckham out of Oklahoma University in the early second round of the 2015 NFL Draft
. One thing hasn’t changed, and that is the sky high ceiling of potential for the 6’6″, 237-pound pass catcher. If the Titans can get more then half of that potential out of him, they could very well be vying for a division title in the rebuilding AFC South in 2016.
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The new front office for the Tennessee Titans has decided to build a run first, smash-mouth offense that revolves around two very physical and talented runners in DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry.
They have filled the offensive line with maulers and even got a pretty aggressive player at the receiver position in Rishard Matthews. This offense is poised to take a huge leap forward in 2016 behind franchise signal caller, Marcus Mariota.
Dec 6, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (17) dives into the end zone to score a touchdown after a reception during the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium. The Titans won 42-39. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
A run first offense means a lot of play-action for Mariota, something he proved is a strong suite for him during his rookie season. After a monster season in 2016, teams will be locking down on Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker, who was easily Mariota’s favorite target last season. Which leaves the door wide open for a deep threat to take charge, which is where ‘DGB’ should be inserted.
The run game will not always be available to the team week in and week out, due to the nature of the NFL. The team will need to rely on the aerial attack to win some ball games this year, but with no true number one currently on the roster that may be an issue. Matthews and Kendall Wright are solid weapons, but neither has established themselves as a go-to target thus far in their careers and that’s unlikely to change. With the two veterans being more complimentary weapons then anything, ‘DGB’ needs to assert himself as a force in this league in 2016, or the window of opportunity may close shut.
If the second year route runner can stay consistent in the upcoming season, him and Mariota could easily develop into one of the top QB/WR combinations in the league and can maintain that for a long time considering both players are only entering their sophomore seasons. But, that was the issue with Green-Beckham his rookie year, consistency.
Consistency is the last word to come to mind when you think of Green-Beckham’s debut NFL campaign. He hauled in a mere 32 passes for 550 yards and four touchdowns. Those aren’t awful numbers for a rookie, but you want to see more out of a player who has similar physical characteristics to Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones.
There were weeks where we questioned the selection of the Oklahoma product. Against Carolina, he didn’t run a route properly which resulted in a game-changing interception by the Panther’s vaunting secondary. Then, there weeks where questions rose about how Green-Beckham was able to fall all the way to pick 40 in last year’s draft when he stood out in games against the Jaguars and Patriots. The team is hoping to see more good then bad in 2016, obviously.
Going up against top flight corners, Dorial Green-Beckham refused to back down, catching touchdowns over household names in Joe Haden and Vontae Davis. It shows the game isn’t too big for him, which is always a positive to see. The physical traits are there, it seems that it’s the mental side of the game that’s slowing down the talented pass catcher.
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There were too many focus/mental errors for my liking. It could have been a route, catching a pass, or not being where he is suppose to be when he is suppose to be there, there are multiple things ‘DGB’ needs to clean up and fast. If he can do so, the Titans offense may be one of the more explosive ones in 2016.