NFL Trade Grades: Tennessee Titans Send Dorial Green-Beckham To Philadelphia Eagles
The Tennessee Titans gave up on Dorial Green-Beckham after just one season, trading him to the Philadelphia Eagles for offensive tackle Dennis Kelly.
The Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a rather unexpected deal early on Tuesday morning. The Titans agreed to send their young wideout Dorial Green-Beckham to the Eagles in exchange for one of their backup offensive linemen Dennis Kelly.
Many had expected Green-Beckham to make the leap this season with the Titans, but the team apparently decided that the talented player was no longer a fit on their roster.
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Green-Beckham was a second round pick by the Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft, and at the time he was considered to be a potential steal. He played his college football at Missouri and during his sophomore campaign he caught 12 touchdowns. He was considered to be a major pro prospect and was even compared to Calvin Johnson at the time.
However, Green-Beckham was dismissed from Missouri for a couple of drug related arrests, and also an alleged assault of which he was later cleared. He never played another down in college ball despite transferring to Oklahoma. Still, he had talent which is why he ended up being a second round pick.
As a rookie, Green-Beckham was able to flash working with fellow rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota. He totaled 32 catches for 549 yards and four touchdowns. Although he was raw, he demonstrated the ability to be a red zone weapon thanks to his 6-5 frame. He looked like a potential future weapon.
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Then, in came new General Manager Jon Robinson. He added a couple of receivers in the offseason in veteran Rishard Matthews and a sleeper rookie out of UMass, Tajae Sharpe. Adding in veterans Kendall Wright, Harry Douglas, and Andre Johnson, it seemed like there was not room for Green-Beckham. This especially became apparent as he struggled to learn the playbook and was not in peak shape at the beginning of the offseason.
The Eagles have to be happy that Green-Beckham was on the market. They really needed another strong receiver to pair with Jordan Matthews as Nelson Agholor was a massive disappointment as a rookie. Green-Beckham should be able to fit in relatively well, and Carson Wentz will like having him to help his development.
Also, the Eagles only had to give up Dennis Kelly to get the deal done. Kelly is just a mediocre backup tackle at the best, so he will be easily replaceable for the team. They did select Halapoulivaati Vaitai in the 2016 draft, and the fifth-round rookie can probably can perform as well as Kelly, if not better.
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This trade is an easy win for the Eagles. They gave up a backup caliber player to get a player who could develop into a star down the line. While I do not like the trade much for the Titans, I understand why they did it. They have some young talent and Green-Beckham was not working out. Still, they should have gotten more than just Kelly to move him.