Subscribe
Follow Us
When the Baltimore Ravens took Mike Green in the second round out of Marshall, it turned heads around the NFL.
On the field, Green was a certified first-round caliber player, one who likely would have long been taken before the Ravens made their selection of Malaki Starks at pick 27 if he had a clean evaluation. But Green's evaluation wasn't clean, with all 32 teams passing on him due to allegations of sexual misconduct during his time at the University of Virginia.
Asked after round two what happened and why he was willing to bring Green into the Ravens flock despite the optics and concerns, Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta broke the decision down, noting that he took great care before pulling the trigger.
“I would say that we investigated this situation very thoroughly. I think we have the best scouts in the NFL. We've got great scouts that go into Virginia. They go into Marshall. We've got people that work for investigating different incidents with players all the time, and we felt comfortable taking,” DeCosta told Ravens reporters.
“We think he's a talented player. We understand the severity of what these allegations were, of course, but doing our due diligence, we are comfortable with Mike. I personally spent an hour and a half with him in my office, and I think the best is yet to come with him, and I'm glad we got him.”
Asked to extrapolate on the situation further, DeCosta broke down the decision even more, noting that while every player's situation is different, Green's off-the-field issues did impact his evaluation, especially against players who are similarly talented.
“I think every decision we make with the draft is tough, because we have a finite amount of picks, and every pick is very valuable, and so you consider everything. You scrutinize everything. It really does become our lives, especially after the season ends. It's a race to the finish, and so it is a difficult decision. It's a difficult decision when a guy runs a slow 40,” DeCosta said.
“It's a difficult decision when a guy has allegations. It's a difficult decision when a guy has an injury that you think he can't overcome, but maybe you can overcome. That all kind of gets factored in, because in the end, there is an element of risk mitigation with everything we do, and we want these guys to come and be productive right away, and they have to be talented. They've got to be durable, and we have to have a lot of trust in them, so it is a difficult decision.”
After dominating at Marshall and at the Senior Bowl, Green has elite talent and looks like he can be a certified player on the Ravens' defense. Whether or not he is able to have a long and prosperous career in Baltimore, however, remains to be seen, as many general managers didn't trust his situation enough to use their draft assets on his services.
