Former Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham could sit out the entire 2014 season and enter the NFL Draft in 2015.
According to Jeremy Fowler of CBSSports.com, Green-Beckham could be preparing to follow the path previously traveled by LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu. Mathieu was dismissed by LSU prior to the 2012 season for a violation of team rules. Soon after being dismissed by LSU Mathieu checked into a drug rehab center in Houston but his stay was brief so he could return to classes at LSU. Later that fall he was arrested for possession of marijuana, and he then entered the NFL Draft in 2013. Mathieu was drafted in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals despite missing a season of football.
Green-Beckham was suspended by Missouri indefinitely for a violation of team rules in April. Just days later the school dismissed Green-Beckham. With a checkered past behind him, where Green-Beckham ended up next was anybody’s guess. It was commonly thought a program from the FCS would end up being the most likely destination but Missouri State kept its distance and despite earlier reports it appears Eastern Illinois has not made a move to bring in the former top recruit in the country.
Time will tell just how this all plays out for Green-Beckham, but there are pros and cons to both situations, playing or not playing. On the one hand, it could be beneficial for Green-Beckham to work hard and focus on football this fall even at the FCS level, but as long as he can find a way to stay out of trouble and can concentrate on training for the next level, there may not be much standing in the way when it come to being drafted by some NFL team. His stock has already dropped and it will be tough to work up to first or even second round material at this point, but reducing the risk of injury is a benefit to not playing this fall.