The Tennessee Titans used this year's draft to add a potential franchise quarterback in Marcus Mariota along with a tantalizing target for him to throw to in Dorial Green-Beckham.
While Mariota widely impressed coaches this spring, Green-Beckham spent weeks sidelined by a hamstring injury. That aside, his former college coach believes the Titans have landed the equivalent of a "nightmare matchup for any cornerback at any level."
"I was with the Colts with Jim Mora when he had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, I was with the Raiders when they had Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Jerry Porter and some other guys on the Super Bowl team," University of Texas receivers coach Jay Norvell told the Tennessean.
Norvell spent last season coaching the red-shirted Green-Beckham in practice at Oklahoma, saying: "When you go through the history of the draft and look at the guys with size and speed and all that, he is just unique. Calvin Johnson is probably one of the closest comparisons physically because of his size."
Armed with 4.49 speed and a 6-foot-5, 237-pound frame, Green-Beckham drew pre-draft comparisons from NFL Media's Charles Davis to Falcons star Julio Jones and former NFL wideout Plaxico Burress.Â
"He's not a finished product, but most players aren't," Norvell said. "So he's going to have to learn the pro game and that's a completely different game from college. But he's got some natural gifts that will help him in that game, and in some ways, the NFL is probably a better game for him than college football, just because of the bump rules and (less) contact and all of that. So there are some advantages he has. ... That's why they picked him."
The Harrison and Megatron comparisons are wildly premature, but a healthy Green-Beckham has a shot to steal snaps away from the enigmatic Justin Hunter across from Kendall Wright. Long missing an identity, the Titans sure could use a young breakout star to help their new quarterback develop.
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