A year after the Eagles presumably would have liked to have gotten its hands on Tennessee’s first-round draft pick, the Eagles have acquired its 2015 second-round selection.
The Eagles announced on Tuesday a trade that bring receiver Dorial Green-Beckham to Philly in a return for offensive lineman Dennis Kelly.
In 16 games (five starts) as a rookie, Green-Beckham caught 32 passes for 549 yards and four touchdowns. That doesn’t sound nearly as good, however, as the glass-half-full characterization from the Eagles’ press release announcing the move: “Among his fellow wide receivers in the 2015 NFL Draft class, Green-Beckham ranked fifth in receiving yards. He totaled more receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns than six of the seven wide receivers selected before him in the draft, trailing only Raiders WR Amari Cooper (72 receptions for 1,070 yards and six touchdowns).”
Kelly was a fifth-round pick of the Eagles in 2012. Beckham-Green had been buried on the 2016 depth chart in Tennessee; given the team’s commitment to the running game, a player who simply wouldn’t be catching many passes apparently wasn’t worth keeping around -- even though it appears that the Eagles initiated the move.
“Not to speak on Philly’s behalf, but they inquired about it,’’ Titans G.M. John Robinson said. “They thought it was a good opportunity for him, and we thought adding Dennis would be good for our football team. We are moving on. I appreciate everything Dorial did when he was here. He bought in to what we are trying to do. But in the end we felt like this was the best decision for the team.”
It’s good to admit a mistake, especially when Robinson wasn’t the one who made it. It remains to be seen whether it was a mistake for the Titans to give up on Green-Beckham.
