Inside the War Room: 2015 Wide Receiver Edition

NFL Draft Diamonds has teamed up with Inside the War Room, to bring you some amazing information about the NFL Draft.  John Blair is an up and coming icon in the Sports industry and if you don’t enjoy this piece you are not a football fan.  Guaranteed you will enjoy this piece. 

Inside the War Room Wide Receiver Edition

In this week’s Inside the War Room I break down the top senior receivers, take a look at Dorial Green-Beckham, discuss the progress of how several wide receivers are coming back from season ending injures and more.

A Look at the 2015 WR Class

The 2015 WR class is looking like a very strong class both in terms of possible early entries and senior prospects. The top underclassmen who could enter the draft is Amari Cooper of Alabama. Cooper is a big strong physical receiver, who would be the top overall receiver in the draft if he leaves after his junior year. I am also intrigued with Dorial Green-Beckham who will likely sit out this season, and then enter the draft. The senior class has some intriguing prospects including my top five seniors who I break down in the rest of this section of Inside the War Room.  

1. Ty Montgomery Stanford 6-2 215

Montgomery is a threat both as a return man and receiver. Last season he ranked second nationally in kick returns with a 30.3 yard average, and was named to the AP All-American first team.  Montgomery also hauled in 61 receptions which led the team by 33 catches.  He also led the team in touchdown receptions by 5 hauling in ten touchdowns.

2. DeVante Parker Louisville 6-3 209

Parker was named NFL.com’s Most Freakish Athlete this summer due to the fact he has a 4.39 40-yard dash, a 36.5 inch vertical jump and can squat 455 pounds. Parker also produced on the field recording 55 receptions for 12 touchdowns last season.

3. Antwan Goodley Baylor 5-10 225

Goodley is another outstanding athlete, who has put up big numbers in college. Last season Gooldey had 71 receptions and 13 touchdowns. His weight room numbers are outstanding as well. According to NFL.com he has a 4.39 40-yard dash and can squat 660 pounds.

4. Rashad Greene Florida State 6-0 178

Green is an explosive playmaker who has the speed to be a big play threat. In 2013 he led Florida State in receptions with 76 catches. His 76 receptions were 22 more than his teammate and first round draft pick Kelvin Benjamin had. He needs to gain some more muscle, and be more physical if he wants to go in the first round. 

5. Kasen Williams Washington 6-3 221

 Williams is a big strong receiver who shows excellent body control. The biggest concern with him is his recovery from a broken leg he suffered last year.  It will be interesting to see how Williams recovers from this injury, and adjusts to new coach Chris Petersen’s offense.

Big Decision

One of the more intriguing wide receiver prospects possibly in the 2015 NFL Draft is former Missouri WR Dorial Green-Beckham. Green-Beckham came out of high school ranked as the number one receiver by Rivals.com. He decided to stay close to home when he picked Missouri over Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. As a freshman at Missouri he had 28 receptions for 395 with a team high five touchdowns. He was able to produce these stats despite missing two games due to a team suspension after being arrested for drug possession. He was arrested on October 3^rd 2012 when police found him and some of his teammates with marijuana. Green-Beckham later pleaded guilty to these charges

 As a sophomore he had 59 receptions for 883 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, trouble found Green-Beckham after the season when he was arrested on January 10^th, 2014 for a second time on drug-related charges. This time police found a pound of marijuana in his car. He found trouble yet again after the 2014 season when he allegedly broke into a female’s apartment, and pushed her down several flights of stairs. He was not charged in this incident, since the female would not cooperate with police in the investigation. After these three incidents Green-Beckham was dismissed from the University of Missouri. 

Green-Beckham now has a decision to make for the upcoming season. He has reportedly considered transferring down to an FCS school like Eastern Illinois, or sitting out the season and entering the 2015 NFL Draft. One thing that Green-Beckham has said he will do this season though is enter counseling which will hopefully allow him to turn his life around. 

When evaluating Green-Beckham the first thing that stands out to me is his outstanding mesurables. He has exceptional height coming in at 6-foot-6 , which will allow him to be an outstanding target for any NFL QB. According to CBS Sports he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds, which is great speed for someone his size. Another aspect of his game I love is his overall athletic ability. He has the explosion to go get the jump ball, and the body control skills to adjust to a poorly thrown ball. The last area that stands out to me is his hands. He usually catches the ball with his big hands, and very rarely allows the ball to get his body. He also has very sure hands, and rarely drops a pass. 

The biggest concern NFL teams will have with Green-Beckham is his off the field issues. He has battled both drug, and violence issues in his time at Missouri. The fact he has entered counseling will help alive these issues some, but it will still be a tremendous concern for NFL teams. When looking at his playing ability the only concern I have is that he is not a very physical player. He is not the most physical blocker, and could stand to add some muscle to be more effective in this area. He also tends to win most match-ups in coverage with his athletic ability and size compared to outmuscling smaller defensive backs. 

Overall, Dorial Green-Beckham would be rated as the second best receiver (behind Amari Cooper) on my board for the 2015 NFL Draft if he did not have the off the field issues. However, these concerns will push him down the board but how far depends on what he does this year. If he stays out of trouble, and gets the help he needs I would take him in the third round. 

Coming Back

This year’s wide receiver class has a lot of players coming back from major injuries that cut their junior year short. This list is headlined by one of the top receivers in college football in Washington’s Kasen Williams. Last season Williams recorded 29 receptions before break his leg in the eight game of the season. This injury also caused him to miss spring ball, but he should be back for the start of the season.

This list also includes one of my sleepers in Keyarris Garrett of Tulsa. Last season Garrett played in only two games due to a broken leg. He was a very productive player before his injury and had 64 receptions and nine touchdowns in 2012. Garrett has told me he will be ready for next season, and if he can return to his old form he should be a day two draft pick. 

Another player who is returning from a significant injury is Arizona WR Austin Hill. Hill missed all of the 2013 season due to a torn ACL. He has since recovered from this injury and took part in spring ball. Hill was another player who had an outstanding sophomore year when he recorded 81 receptions for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The last receiver on my draft board who suffered a season ending injury is Jamal Turner of Nebraska. Turner played in the first seven games of the 2013 season, before suffering a leg injury that caused him to miss the rest of the season. In the seven games he played last year he had 13 catches for 102 yards.  Turner has fully recovered from his injury, and took part in spring ball this spring.

Notes

Rice LB Cameron Nwosu has transferred to SMU. He will be a senior next season. … Senior DE Houston Bates has transferred from Illinois to Louisiana Tech. … OG Cameron Jefferson has transferred from UNLV to Arkansas. … Georgia Southern RB Dominique Swope was arrested for aggravated battery. … RB Lyle McCombs has left the UConn’s football program. … Rice DT Stuart Mouchantaf will miss the 2014 season, and will take a medical redshirt. …

You can follow John Blair on twitter @nfldraftitwr

Are you a college football fan?  If so you can get tickets cheap by using Ticket Monster, our partners site to save on tickets.