As of right now, the Ravens haven't taken any draft prospect off their board.
That could still change in the week leading up to the draft, when the final big board is set in stone. But until that point, the Ravens are doing as much homework as they can on players with some character concerns.
The Ravens have brought in at least three potential first-round prospects with such red flags for official visits: wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, cornerback Marcus Peters and pass rusher Randy Gregory.
The visits were confirmed by General Manager Ozzie Newsome and Assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta.
"We've been able to do additional work," Newsome said. "We will spend next week, basically our third set of meetings with the scouts. Coming out of those meetings we'll have a better idea of where players will rank as far as our board is concerned."
Each of the three players have different character questions.
Green-Beckham was dismissed from the Missouri football team after two separate marijuana arrests and a report that he pushed an 18-year-old female* *down several stairs. He transferred to Oklahoma, where he sat out the entire season, and declared for the NFL draft after just two years on the field.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder was one of the most talented receivers in the game when he played, however. He caught 59 passes for 883 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore. Pundits have compared his game to Lions Pro Bowler Calvin Johnson.
Where Green-Beckham lands in the draft is anybody's guess, but the Ravens are doing their due diligence to find out more about him. Last week, Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti said the team is treating domestic violence differently in evaluations this year.
"I think it's changing our draft board, and it certainly is going to change the free agents that we're looking at," Bisciotti said.
Peters, a potential first-round cornerback many* *pundits have projected to the Ravens at No. 26, hasn't had any legal troubles like Green-Beckham, but was also dismissed from his college team.
Peters was first suspended for one game because of a "sideline tantrum." Then he was dismissed from the team in November after another argument with assistant coaches during practice. He reportedly had several clashes with coaches.
Outside his arguments, Peters is considered possibly the most talented cornerback in the draft. He had eight interceptions and 27 passes defensed in three seasons, and plays with an edge and swagger.
Gregory is perhaps the highest-touted prospect of the three. He was a consensus top-10 pick before testing positive for marijuana at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Gregory said, "I blame myself."
Gregory is a 6-foot-6, 240 pound defensive end who racked up 17.5 sacks and 25.5 tackles for loss during his two seasons at Nebraska. He also had two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and two forced fumbles.
"Everything matters," DeCosta said. "We scrutinize everything, every piece of information. Obviously if a guy has a problem with drug testing, we talk about it. We don't do this in a vacuum, we consider everything. We talk about all the different facts of the matter and talk to people."
The Ravens are under a microscope for players' off-field behavior considering the Ray Rice incident and multiple arrests over the past couple years. Baltimore has had three players arrested this offseason, and all three were soon after released.
While the Ravens are doing their research, Newsome stressed that it's impossible to exactly predict whether a player will get in trouble. Last year, rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro was arrested less than a month after being drafted.
"I would hope that wouldn't happen again," Newsome said. "We will do any and everything that we can that to make sure the 10 or 11 or six and seven players we bring to Baltimore will hopefully stay out of trouble. We'll probably do extra work on that.
"Still, there is not a guarantee that that isn't going to happen. It's just impossible."
Newsome said Bisciotti talked about what he wants the character of the team to be like when the front-office brass met at his home in Jupiter, Fla, this offseason.
Still, Newsome said he'd like to think that the bar for prospect's off-field behavior was "just as high" last year as this season.
"We will do our due diligence, we will do everything that we can, but I still cannot promise you that one of the guys we draft will not get into trouble," Newsome said.
