AJ Green
Height/Weight: 6'4"/205 lbs.
Wide Receiver
Hometown: Summerville, South Carolina
School: University of Georgia
Year: Junior
When scouts see Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver AJ Green play a game, they all come away with the same impression: "Randy Moss 2.0." Those are big words to describe a kid who is only 21, but they are very reasonable. The rising junior, born in South Carolina, has been on the radars of NFL scouts since his times as a skinny prep sophomore at Summerville High. Blessed with the physical stature of a basketball player and raw speed of a track star, Green has been embarrassing defensive backs on every level of competition ever since.
Green was first truly noticed by the nation his freshman campaign. After being one of the most sought after players in the country during his college recruitment process, people expected him to produce at a high level. The one thing no one could foresee would be how soon he would do just that. Green took the conference by storm, winning SEC Freshman of the Year, and landing on 1st team All SEC. His statistics to accompany the accolades were eye popping as well: 56 catches (9 touchdowns) for 963 yards. The youngster set Georgia freshman records in almost every major receiving category, and posted the third highest yard total in school history (in front of guys like Hines Ward and Mohammed Massaquoi...not bad company). At Georgia this past season, despite missing three games due to injury, Green still ended up with 47 catches (6 touchdowns) for 751 yards. Those were scary numbers considering the strength of the SEC and overall ineptitude of Georgia's offense in the post-Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno era.
Most scouts see Green leaving school after next year to take advantage of his high NFL draft stock. He is listed as a top 5 pick on predominantly all online mock drafts, ahead of fellow college receiver standouts Michael Floyd of Notre Dame and Julio Jones of Alabama. Undoubtably, Green is the best receiver prospect since Calvin Johnson, and draws many comparisons to All-Everything wideout Randy Moss. The similarities in their games cannot be ignored. Like Moss, Green uses his height and excellent ability to control his body in midair to snatch high passes and jump balls. The Georgia product also has tantalizing speed, as shown by his 4.5 forty yard dash. This deadly combination of height and speed makes Green a nightmare for any cornerback to match up on. His hands are like glue, rarely dropping passes and always pulling down impossibly placed balls with ease. A huge plus for Green, especially in the eyes of NFL coaches, is his experience in Georgia's pro style attack. With so many players in college football these days coming out of school only knowing how to play in the spread offense, it is a breathe of fresh air to have such a refined player with such high pedigree come along. It is very difficult to pinpoint any weakness in AJ Green's game, but if one had to be made his bulk would be brought up. To make it in the NFL, he's going to have to show a commitment to getting stronger in the weight room.
Here at NextGen Sports, Green currently is number one overall on our big board of potential first round prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft. He will absolutely help any struggling team that is lucky enough to be in a position to draft him.
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