OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta defended selecting Marshall edge rusher Mike Green in the second round of the NFL draft Friday, saying they took him with the No. 59 pick after investigating two sexual assault allegations in his past.
At the NFL combine in February, Green said that he was accused of sexual assault at Virginia, leading to his transfer to Marshall, and that he had faced another sexual assault allegation in high school. Green was never charged and insisted he did nothing wrong.
On Friday, DeCosta said the team looked into the allegations “very thoroughly.” The Ravens’ scouts spoke to people at Virginia and Marshall. DeCosta also met with Green for 90 minutes during a predraft visit to Baltimore.
“We understand the severity of what these allegations were, of course,” DeCosta said. “But doing our due diligence, we are comfortable with Mike. I think the best is yet to come with him, and I’m glad we got him.”
Green, the FBS sacks leader with 17 last season, fell to the bottom of the second round after being rated as the 18th-best prospect by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. There was less than a 1% chance that Green would be available at No. 59, according to ESPN’s Draft Day Predictor.
When Green was selected, he broke down in tears during a television broadcast of his draft party. Green was not made available to reporters Friday.
“We got as much information as we could,” DeCosta said. “We considered the facts, we considered the allegations. We considered what the reports actually were and what they actually weren’t, and we made the decision based off of that.”
The drafting of Green comes as the NFL is investigating Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for sexual misconduct. Tucker has been accused of inappropriate behavior by 16 massage therapists, according to the Baltimore Banner. Tucker has twice publicly disputed the allegations.
Asked if Tucker’s situation factored into the decision to draft Green, DeCosta said, “We look at them individually and we do as much homework as we can. And specifically to Mike and Mike’s case, I feel like we did a good job talking to as many people as possible. We talked to Mike at length, we did our own kind of work behind the scenes looking at all the different things and we felt comfortable taking him.”
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