Eric DeCosta Opening Statement: "Okay, guys. We're excited. We think we added two very good football players today. Mike Green, we think [is] one of the premier pass rushers in this draft. [He's a] Marshall [guy and] fits us with his playing style. [We were] excited to get him at that point in the draft, and then also Emery Jones [Jr.], a younger player, offensive tackle/offensive guard from LSU. [I] had a chance to see him at the Senior Bowl. [He's] physical, aggressive, tough-minded [and] a good length. I think he's a really, really good young physical prospect who should be a really good tackle at some point or transition to being a very good guard. Questions?"
Eric, I think many people thought OLB Mike Green was a Top 20-type prospect. Was he even in consideration in the first round? I know you said S Malaki Starks was the top player on your board at that point, but was Mike Green in consideration possibly at that point in the first round? (Jamison Hensley)
(DeCOSTA) "[Mike Green] is a talented player, for sure. He's a guy that we looked at very closely. I spent a lot of time with Mike [when he] came to Baltimore. I spent a full day with Mike here, interviewed him at the Combine, watched his tape. [He's a] talented guy. For us, looking at Malaki, we just felt like his resume, what he did at Georgia [in] big games [against] tremendous competition, the needs of our defense [and] what he brings, we thought he was the best pick [in the first round]."
Eric, there were two sexual assault allegations regarding OLB Mike Green when he was younger. I know he denied them, and there have been no charges. Fans have already reached out and said this shows that it doesn't really matter as long as you can play. What do you say to those fans? (Bo Smolka)
(DeCOSTA) "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 [Mike Green]. 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."
Given the allegations obviously with K Justin Tucker, I know they are separate, and each case is looked at individually. When you have a situation like that, do you weigh ... does that have any weight when you're considering looking at a different guy? (Brian Wacker)
(DeCOSTA) "I don't think that would be fair to either player. It'd be like me asking you ... your writing style is similar to [ESPN reporter] Jamison [Hensley]. You're both in the media, but you write differently, so it's two different situations, and obviously, the allegations are severe. We take it seriously. We look at them individually, and we do as much homework as we can, and specifically to Mike [Green] in 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."
Eric, I know when you guys put your draft board together, you kind of separate things based off injuries and character and off the field issues. When it came to OLB Mike Green, I know you said you guys kind of diligently investigated it. What made you get to the point to where you were comfortable taking the chance with him? (Cordell Woodland)
(DeCOSTA) "I think you just answered your own question. We diligently investigated it. We got as much information as we could. 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."
Eric, what kind of feedback did you get from coaches and people in OLB Mike Green's circle regarding his character? (Jonas Shaffer)
(DeCOSTA) "I would say positive."
John, what did you learn about OLB Mike Green when you met? I imagine you were part of that, too, when he came in. (Jeff Zrebiec)
(HARBAUGH) "I actually wasn't here the day we met with him, but I'd just echo what [executive vice president and general manager] Eric said. It was Eric. It was our scouts. I was in all the meetings. I heard all the reports. What Eric said was ... It's not so much what they were and what they weren't. It's just as important, and the coaches and administrators and teammates at Marshall were fully supportive of everything he had done there, and [it was the] same at UVA. It wasn't any different at UVA. It was exactly the same from that standpoint, so you talk about due diligence. It was exhaustive – what these guys have done – and we made a decision based on what we felt was fair."
Is it still a tough decision when you're weighing that, when you're weighing those things? (Brian Wacker)
(DeCOSTA) "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[-yard dash]. 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."
Eric, they showed OLB Mike Green on television and he was very emotional. Can you share a little bit about the phone call with him? Obviously, he was waiting a long time, and most people thought he'd be off the board by then. (Jeff Zrebiec)
(DeCOSTA) "I think I'll leave that conversation to us. You'll probably get a chance to see it or hear it, but I think he [Mike Green] was with his family. I think he was relieved. It looks like he has a beautiful, wonderful family supporting him and I think they're excited for this next chapter."
Eric, do you expect that OLB Mike Green will be made available to us? (Jonas Shaffer)
(DeCOSTA) "I would assume so. That would be more of a [senior vice president of communications] Chad [Steele] question, I think."
John, in looking at the tape of OLB Mike Green, what jumped out at you in watching him? (Jamison Hensley)
(HARBAUGH) "The first thing that jumped out at me was [Mike Green's] motor. He's a relentless player. You talk about a guy that plays the way our fans like to watch football played. He plays like a guy that really cares. He comes off the ball, he's very physical and he does not stop playing until the final echo of the whistle. He's physical, he's aggressive, he plays the kind of football that we like to play. And I think just the football I.Q., football character is very high."
John, do you look at OLB Mike Green as an instant-impact type of guy on this defense? (Cordell Woodland)
(HARBAUGH) "Sure, absolutely. [Mike Green] is a guy that's going to come in here day one and he's going to make a mark. It's going to be exciting. You look at our whole draft really in total, these first two guys, defensive guys, you're going to notice them when we get there the first day. Malaki [Starks] is going to be flying around taking charge, and Mike [Green] is going to be flying around. He won't be calling defenses back there, but he'll be coming off the edge, and he's physical against the run, and the other thing is, it's important to these two guys, both these two guys. Football really, really matters to them. They want to be successful. They want it to be in front of them. They want to make the most of their chances they have going forward [and have] an opportunity to do things the right way. They're both very determined to do that, and I know that they've both expressed that. Mike really expressed that. He really wants to make the most of this opportunity, and he's very grateful for the opportunity. I'd say the same thing about Emery [Jones Jr.]. He felt the same way. He's another guy whose got big goals, big aspirations, and all these guys, it's just so meaningful. You get on the phone with them afterwards, and they're all taking their journey. They're all fighting their fight. They're trying to overcome and make their dreams come true, and these guys are a very highly-motivated group of guys."
John, with T Emery Jones Jr., it seems like in college he was primarily a right tackle. Do you see him as having a possibility of competing for that guard spot on the left side, or do you see him more as a tackle? (Jamison Hensley)
(HARBAUGH) "No, we see [Emery Jones Jr.] as a possible swing guy. That's why I thought the pick was so good that [executive vice president and general manager] Eric [DeCosta] made. He's got the chance to be a swing backup tackle for us right away, but he also has a chance to go in there at guard and play. So, we're going to put him in at guard too, see how he does, and just get a feel for him once he starts practicing, get a feel for where he can help us, and we think he play guard and tackle."
Did T Emery Jones Jr. do any work inside at the Senior Bowl while you guys were there? (Jonas Shaffer)
(DeCOSTA) "[Emery Jones Jr.] did. He took some reps inside, I think. I was just really impressed with his competitiveness in the practices. A lot of times, some players go down [to the Senior Bowl], and they sort of treat it as a fun week. And with Emery, in the one-on-ones, this guy was fighting and battling in all the competitive periods. He really showed a lot of effort and tenacity, and it just seemed like watching him, [head coach] John [Harbaugh] would say [that] he's kind of a 'Ravens type' of player. His attitude, his demeanor, his explosion, physicality. He's the guy that, when we left, I just thought, 'You know what? This guy would have a chance of being pretty good for us.'"
Eric, did you entertain at any point trade offers for Mark Andrews, and can you definitively say he'll be on this team in the fall? (Bo Smolka)
(DeCOSTA) "Well, I would never say if I entertained any trade offers at this point. I would really expect Mark [Andrews] to be on this team. [He's a] great player; I love him. [He's a] competitive, tough, playmaker. I would expect him to be on the team."
What about overall today? Were you pretty committed to staying where you were, or was there thought at any point in the draft to maybe moving up if you had thoughts on picking a guy? (Jeff Zrebiec)
(DeCOSTA) "I sweated the third-round pick a little bit just because I think Emery [Jones Jr.] was a guy that we really liked picking at the end of the round, and I really didn't [want] to trade up. I thought there was a chance that we get Emery down there, but it's a long day, and you start to see [offensive] linemen go, and I was just glad he was there. But, I think it was a good day. I'm excited about tomorrow [and] the opportunities that we have tomorrow with all the picks that we have in the fourth and fifth round, especially the sixth round. And the board looks pretty good. We got wiped out, but because there's more players ... Looking at that last category, we call it 'five nines,' but there's a lot of names, which means we should have a chance to get some good players in the sixth round."
