NASHVILLE, Tenn. —Titans rookie receiver Dorial Green-Beckham is very much a work in progress.
On Monday, Green-Beckham did some work with the first team.
"I think it is a reward,'' Titans receivers coach Shawn Jefferson said. "DGB has shown the ability to pick up on the playbook very well. For a big guy he can run, and he sink his hips, and get out at the top of his routes. … Putting him in with the first group kind of elevates that sense of urgency for him. He has done well. There have been so growing pains, but that kid is going to be all right."
Green-Beckham, the team's second round pick, struggled with conditioning early in camp. He's been guilty of dropping passes.
But coach Ken Whisenhunt said Green-Beckham has been working, and is making progress. Green-Beckham missed a good portion of the offseason with a hamstring injury.
"It is hard for him because he missed so much,'' Whisenhunt said of Green-Beckham. "But he is working at it, and that is why we're putting him in there and trying to put him in situations to see how he responds, and that will continue."
Green-Beckham will get a big test on Friday night in the team's preseason opener at Atlanta. Green-Beckham didn't play at all last fall while at Oklahoma, so he hasn't played in a football game since the 2013 season when he played at Missouri.
"I am big-time anxious to see how he does on Friday,'' Jefferson said. "It was really good for me to see him the other day when we had the practice at the stadium. Just looking into his eyes, it didn't seem to frighten him at all. He was ready for it. As a matter of fact, during Saturday's practice I put him in for a string of eight plays, and he was fine. So his condition is just about right. I am looking forward to seeing him play on Friday and how he adjusts to the speed of the game."
