Ladarius Green 2012 NFL Draft quick report

This year I wrote the player rankings and evaluations for the USA Today 2012 NFL Draft magazine. It’s on newsstands now and available online here. Leading up to the draft, I’ll be reprinting some of my quick reports here.

Strengths: Routinely makes spectacular catches all over the field. Shows good agility and body control to adjust to bad passes. Has good but maybe not elite speed for a tight end. Still, Green is dangerous after the catch. He’s strong enough to break tackles by defensive backs but elusive enough to avoid linebackers.

Weaknesses: Typically not used on the line of scrimmage with his hand down, so his in-line blocking is questionable. When he’s close to the box, good jamming defenders can hold Green up at the line. Needs to start running crisper routes and take advantage of his ability to fool defender with his athleticism.

Combine quotable: My biggest strength is my athletic ability, stretching the field, catching passes and creating mismatches. I’ve still got to work on blocking and being able to put my hand on the ground coming off the ball.