NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans hope taking a chance on wide receiver DoriRep. Al Green (D-TX)-Beckham of Missouri in the second round of the NFL draft is a gamble that pays off big by giving Marcus Mariota another target on offense.
It’s a risky pick for a franchise coming off a 2-14 season with its last playoff berth back in 2008.
“It’ll be pointed at me if he … has off the field (issues), which he wouldn’t be the first NFL player to have issues off the field or if he’s not a good enough player the finger will be pointed at me as well,” general manager Ruston Webster said. “I accept that.”
The Titans started Friday night with the first pick in the second round. They traded down seven spots to No. 40 to take Green-Beckham as the second receiver drafted in the round while picking up the No. 108 pick in the fourth round and No. 245 in the seventh in the deal.
The 6-foot-5 Green-Beckham was dismissed from Missouri after several run-ins with the police during his two years at the school. He enrolled at Oklahoma in 2014 only to have a waiver to play immediately dismissed by the NCAA — the 6-foot-5, 237-pound receiver never played for the Sooners because of transfer rules.
Green-Beckham said he knows his off-field issues dropped him out of the first round. He insisted he has become a better person by surrounding himself with people who will protect him.
“I was a young guy in college having fun,” Green-Beckham said. “I put that all in my past.”
But this franchise passed up drafting Randy Moss back in 1998 because of concerns about his off the field issues, a decision that didn’t hurt as the Titans reached their lone Super Bowl two seasons later.
This time, the Titans believe they’ve done their homework well talking with his coaches both at Missouri and Oklahoma. Coach Ken Whisenhunt said receivers coach Shawn Jefferson and assistant receivers coach Jason Tucker have strong personalities and will be good for Green-Beckham.
Webster said he sees a hunger in the receiver to play the game after sitting out an entire season.
“Not having football has had an effect on him,” Webster said. “He went to Oklahoma and handled himself well and stayed out of trouble, and he wasn’t playing. He was just practicing. He was basically a scout team player. … That was my impression that he understands that the probably made some mistakes and he wanted to continue to play football he had to do the right thing.”
Green-Beckham’s issues at Missouri include being charged in October 2012 with marijuana possession while later pleading guilty to trespassing. He was arrested in his hometown of Springfield in January 2014 when police found a pound of marijuana in the car, though no charges were filed against him in that case.
He was dismissed by Missouri coach Gary Pinkel in April 2014 after a reported burglary where a woman alleged that Green-Beckham of forcing his way into her apartment and pushing her down a few stairs. He was neither arrested nor charged.
The Titans already have Kendall Wright, a first-round draft pick in 2012, and a 6-4 receiver in Justin Hunter, a second-round pick in 2013. They also signed Harry Douglas and Hakeem Nicks in free agency.
But they have a new quarterback in Mariota, the Heisman Trophy winner from Oregon, as they try to juice up an offense that was one of the worst in the NFL last season. Tennessee ranked 29th in the league averaging 303.7 yards per game, and the Titans were a bit better in the passing game averaging 213.3 yards — 22nd.
“I have a vision that we’re going to have a great career,” Green-Beckham said. “Me and Marcus Mariota are going to connect well. I mean he’s going to have a big receiver like me, and he’s not going to have to worry. I know I’m going to be able to help him out of a lot of things.”
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