NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Titans receiver Dorial Green-Beckham passes the look test every time.
Through the eyes of new Titans receivers coach Bob Bratkowski, Green-Beckham looks good from a physical standpoint.
"There is no doubt he is a physical specimen, and the combination of his athleticism and size is rare,'' Bratkowski said of Green-Beckham, the team's second-round draft pick from a year ago. "There is potential. You see a lot of potential there."
Bratkowski, hired last month by head coach Mike Mularkey, is hesitant to go too in-depth in evaluating Green-Beckham, or any of the team's other receivers for that matter, however.
"It's too early really. You can look at the film and see the player, but until you spend time around him, and find out about his intellectual capabilities, his work habits, how he approaches his job, his professionalism…,'' said Bratkowski, who has worked 15 years as an offensive coordinator, coached quarterbacks and also receivers during NFL stops with the Seahawks, Steelers, Bengals, Falcons and Jaguars.
"After you see some of that, then you start to relate it to what you are seeing on film. Because those underlying areas, your professionalism and all those other things really translate onto the field. So if we need to fix those – and I'm not saying there is any of those – we're going to have to address those base fundamentals of how you come to work every day, how prepared you are, the amount of studying you do. Do you want to be a master of your position or are you just out there playing?
"I have to learn the personality of all these guys, their professionalism, work habits, and intellectual capability. I see the physical talent, but I need to spend time with them."
Green-Beckham was the eighth receiver taken in the 2015 NFL Draft. Yet as a rookie, the Titans receiver finished the year with more catches, yards and touchdowns than six of the seven receivers selected in front of him, with the lone exception being Oakland's Amari Cooper, the fourth overall pick of the draft
Green-Beckham finished his rookie year with 32 catches for 549 yards and four touchdowns.
Bratkowski, who has coached receivers Hines Ward, Terrell Owens, Joey Galloway and Chad Johnson in his NFL career, said he's familiar with Titans receiver Kendall Wright, who's headed into his fifth season. He studied the former Baylor star coming out of college.
He coached veteran Harry Douglas with the Falcons. As for Justin Hunter, Bratkowski said, "I do know he has quite a bit of athletic ability."
Something else Bratkowski knows is he wants a tough, physical group of receivers in Tennessee.
He doesn't want his players getting pushed around on Sundays.
"It's a mindset, being an aggressive, tough player. And when you are that way as a blocker, then it carries over into your aggressive nature in going after the football, and running with football after the catch. You want aggressive, competitive people. And there's a physical nature to it,'' Bratkowski said.
"You have to let them know: I am not here to be pushed around."
