NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Titans receiver Dorial Green-Beckham feels lighter, faster, and more confident than he did at the start of training camp.
As he heads into his third preseason game at Kansas City – down the road from where he spent his first two college seasons at Missouri --- Green-Beckham believes he can help the Titans in his rookie season.
His performance in Sunday night's win over the Rams was a positive step. Green-Beckham caught four passes for 40 yards against St. Louis, including catches on three straight plays.
"It feels good,'' Green-Beckham said. "I feel like I got more balls thrown my way, and it is up to me to make those catches."
Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt believes Green-Beckham is on the right track as well.
But he's also quick to point out he's still learning. Green-Beckham, selected in the second round by the Titans in the NFL Draft, didn't play at all in 2014 while attending Oklahoma.
"I don't know when the comfort level with Dorial Green-Beckham is going to come, we're still working through a couple of things with him,'' Whisenhunt said. "It's obvious he's a very talented young man and he did some good things for us (vs the Rams). But he also covered up Phillip Supernaw in an illegal formation on a 37-yard completion, which doesn't really excite you a whole lot sometimes. I think we just have to continue to work through those things. We're trying to get him involved in a little bit more just because of what he's shown and we'll do that."
Green-Beckham has leaned on veterans like Kendall Wright and Harry Douglas to help him in his development. With Justin Hunter having a solid camp, the sense of urgency surrounding Green-Beckham has probably been dialed back a bit.
Green-Beckham has done his part to get in better shape. He dropped 6-7 pounds from when he started training camp, when he weighed just over 240 pounds. He's now around 235.
"It has helped a lot,'' he said. "I feel better. I feel good and I feel faster than I did coming in at 240. Now it's all about improving."
Whisenhunt said Green-Beckham will continue to get more chances. Through two preseason contests, Green-Beckham has five catches for 72 yards, which includes a 32-yard reception at Atlanta in preseason game No.1.
"When you think about 20 months away from football you know there are going to be some growing pains, especially when you are coming to the NFL level from the type of offense he was running, but he likes to work,'' Whisenhunt said. "He's working hard at it, I don't have any problems with him. I think certainly, you like having young players like that are into it, and that want to do well. It's good that he'll continue to push himself and we'll continue to find ways to get him involved."
