Kansas City Chiefs Should Draft Dorial Green-Beckham

Mel Kiper Jr. has the Kansas City Chiefs selecting receiver Dorial Green-Beckham with the 18th overall pick in his first official 2015 NFL Draft Mock Draft (Note: You must be subscribed to ESPN Insider to read the entire article), which usually means the Chiefs should, under no circumstances, draft Dorial Green-Beckham with the No. 18 pick in the real 2015 NFL Draft, but on this one, I actually agree with Mel.

On paper, there’s no reason Green-Beckham should be available when the Chiefs pick in the first round and it’s entirely possible that he will not be. He’s a prototype NFL prospect at 6’ 6”, 225-pounds and a one-time track star with a vertical and a knack for winning jump balls.

Green-Beckham was the highest-rated recruit out of high school, played two seasons in the SEC and caught 59 balls for 883 yards and 15 TDs in his sophomore season at Missouri. The guy is a physical phenomenon and proved himself at the highest level of college ball.

More from Chiefs Draft Analysis

There’s the flip side though, which consists of his run-ins with police. Two marijuana-related arrests and a third incident involving the pushing of his girlfriend’s 18-year-old female roommate down a set of stairs.

Although the only charge he faced from these arrests was Trespassing (the female victim decided against pressing charges), the bad press forced coach Gary Pinkel to act and DGB was, rightfully, told to pack up and leave (Source: Edward Aschoff of ESPN.com).

These are legitimate, recurring character concerns. This isn’t Justin Houston’s failed drug test at the NFL Combine. This is an apparent drug issue and an accusation of assaulting a woman. Place red flags here, here and right there (Source of link: Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk).

There are two reasons, as the Chiefs General Manager, that I’m willing to look deeper than DGB’s lengthy off-the-field track record and draft him in the hopes that he has some level of professional character.

First, it’s off the field. We’re not talking about an ACL tear or a neck surgery. The Chiefs would hire him to play football and in that respect, he’s a low-risk, high-reward talent if he’s healthy. This isn’t where the question marks appear.

Second, Green-Beckham needs a strong NFL locker room and the Kansas City Chiefs provide that. Andy Reid is respected as a teacher who encourages players to express themselves on the field, and he’s developed young players as a head coach for more than 15 years.

Live Feed

2015 KC Chiefs draft class is one of best in team history /

Arrowhead Addict

Re-Drafting the 2015 NFL Draft: Where do Winston and Mariota end up?NFL Mocks

Draft Rewind: Studs and Duds from 1st round of 2015 NFL draftWith the First Pick

The debate over Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota remains unsettledFanSided

New York Jets waive 2015 second round pick Devin SmithNFL Mocks

Titans surely feel fortunate to have Marcus MariotaFanSided

The Chiefs are coming off back-to-back winning seasons and have proven leaders on both sides of the ball. Hopefully this lowers DGB’s risk of getting in his own way. It certainly feels better than him going to a young, rebuilding organization like the Oakland Raiders or Minnesota Vikings.

Of course, the most important factor in drafting DGB will be finding out if he actually loves football and desires to be great at it, or if he cares more about cashing paychecks, partying and generally not sacrificing his time and effort for a team’s good.

That’s up to GM John Dorsey, Reid and the rest of the guys who will interview and access Green-Beckham’s football soul – as Dorsey puts it (Source of link: B.J. Kissel of KC Chiefs’ official website).

Interestingly, Dorsey and the Chiefs signed receiver Da’Rick Rogers earlier this month, a talented former Colts receiver who also has a concerning record. Only after did the team do its own research into Rogers’ past, according to The Kansas City Star’s Terez A. Paylor.

Plenty of other options will remain for the Chiefs’ first-round selection, but Green-Beckham at pick 18 might be a rare intersection of the best player available and a glaring team need.

Next: Latest Mock Has Chiefs Taking Winston In The 1st

More from KC Kingdom

Home/Chiefs Draft Analysis