The Baltimore Ravens selected Marshall Thundering Herd edge rusher Mike Green with the No. 59 overall pick in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night in what one NFL insider is calling “the most controversial pick of the draft.”
Can he play? That doesn’t seem to be much in question here.
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At Marshall, he led the nation with 17 sacks last season.
In addition to that impressive milestone, he also led the Sun Belt Conference with 23 tackles for loss while posting 84 total tackles, two passes defended, a fumble recovery and three forced fumbles.
And he built his way to statistical excellence over the course of his college time, as Green posted one sack in 2021 in six games with Virginia and 4.5 in 2023 across 13 games, for a career total of 22.5.
What he did not build, unfortunately, was a solid off the field reputation.
The Ravens drafted defense in the first round when they took Georgia safety Malaki Starks at No. 27. Then they decided to double-dip in Round 2 and take edge rusher Mike Green.
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What’s PFF‘s grade here?
“Green’s off-the-field concerns led to his slide in the draft, but from an on-field perspective, he has the talent to be one of the biggest steals,” PFF wrote. “He earned 90.0-plus grades in each of the past two seasons and dominated a lower level of competition. Green recorded 17 sacks in 2024, posting a 20.2% pass-rush win rate and a 9.4% run-stop rate.”‘
But …
Green has been accused twice of sexual assault, the second time coming while at Virginia, which led to his transfer to Marshall.
It also led to a player who some viewed as a top-12 talent sliding to the bottom of the second round.
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Green has proclaimed his innocence, and he’s never been charged.
But Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta is acknowledging the issue.
“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 will be competing for a starting job with veterans Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson and David Ojabu in Baltimore, but has the tools to compete.
Baltimore ended their 2024 campaign at 12-5 and first in the NFC North, allowing 361 points per game.
The 34-year-old Van Noy led the defense with 12.5 sacks followed closely by Oweh with 10.
Related: Ravens Draft Georgia Safety To Bolster Impressive Secondary