Atlanta Falcons: Grades For Final Two Picks, Overall Grade
Round 6 Pick 31 (203 overall)
Marcus Green: Kick Returner/ Running Back / Wide Receiver – Louisiana Monroe
Height:5’8 Weight:190 40 Time:4.39
Marcus Green is an explosive return man from Pontiac, Mississippi. He is a versatile player who plays the running back and wide receiver positions. Green lead the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks in receiving every season of his career, amassing 2698 yards and 23 touchdowns in four years. He also ran the ball 51 times for 451 and a touchdown. As a kickoff returner, Marcus Green compiled 1761 yards with an average of 25.2 yards per return and four touchdowns for the Warhawks. He added 280 yards and a touchdown returning punts. Green was All Sun Belt Conference First team in both his Junior and Senior seasons for his work on offense and special teams. He also received the high honor of being named a Second Team All American by the Pro Football Writers Association of America as an all purpose player. You can the story of his selection on The News Star.
Best Season:
Kick Return: 2017: Ret:27 Yds:876 Avg:32.4 TD:4
Punt Return: 2018: Ret:5 Yds:85 Avg:17.0 TD:1
Rushing: 2018 – Att:20 Yds:193 Avg:9.7 TD:1
Receiving: 2018 – Rec:50 Yds:855 Ave:17.1 TD:8
Marcus Green gave his thoughts on being drafted to the Atlanta Falcons on their YouTube channel:
Strengths
Marcus Green is a small blazing fast playmaker, with incredible acceleration and agility. He offers value in the fact that he can play multiple positions, but return specialist is where he will make his money in the NFL. As a receiver Green specializes in yards after the catch. He has the courage to catch balls over the middle, despite his small stature. Green is a tough and aggressive as runner.
The Atlanta Falcons provided us with the following highlights of Marcus Green in college on their official YouTube channel:
Weaknesses
Marcus Green is a small receiving target, who doesn’t offer much of a margin of error when throwing to him. This is due to his tiny catch radius. He lacks polish and patience as a route runner, often playing at a road runner’s pace. Green has sub par hands and is prone to drops. Winning a 50/50 ball will be a rare accomplishment for Marcus Green in the NFL.
Expert Opinion
Lance Zierlein analyst for NFL.com, gives a complete review of Marcus Green and his talent in this Draft Profile. He also gave this summary of Marcus Green as an NFL prospect:
Draft Projection: Priority free agent
"Full-throttle slot receiver with explosive speed to gain vertical separation, outrun pursuit after the catch or on kick returns. Green lacks fundamentals as a route-runner and is fully reliant upon raw speed to create advantages. He struggles to finish contested catches so fine-tuning his routes and improving his hands are mandatory. He may never be able to reign in his high-octane pace for better control, but his speed, diversity and return talent could land him on Day 3."
Fit With The Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are saying they are going to try Marcus Green as a third down running back initially. However I do expect to see Green lined up in the slot as well. He will be a weapon for Atlanta on jet sweep handoffs and wide receiver screens. He will also be used to run go routes from the slot to take the top off of the defense. As a running back, expect to see Green utilized on screens, option routes and wheel routes, in an attempt to get him the ball out in space.
Marcus Green will likely compete with Kenjon Barner, Justin Hardy and possibly Kendall Sheffield for the positions of kick returner and punt returner. He led his entire college division with four kickoff returns for touchdowns as a junior. It’s exciting to see Atlanta draft a player with this level of speed and versatility. Should he make the active roster, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will have a swiss army knife at his disposal with Green. What’s even more exciting, is the fact that Atlanta may finally have the explosive kick returner they have been searching for.