LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Will the reported flagged drug test by University of Louisville offensive lineman Mekhi Becton affect his status in the NFL Draft?
Tune in Thursday night for the answer.
I’ve seen draft projections for Becton as high as No. 4 and as low as No. 12, but that was before NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport reported last week that Becton was one of several prospects whose drug tests were flagged at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February.
U of L offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford answered questions about Becton on a teleconference Tuesday. He praised the mammoth tackle as a player whose conduct and work ethic were exemplary.
I asked Ledford if Becton had any flagged tests at Louisville.
“All I can do is speak from ... I’ve never been made aware of any,” Ledford said.
“There’s nothing that’s been brought to my attention the year that I was here with him. He’s a guy that I never worried about anything outside of football or doing anything wrong.
“When I think of Mekhi I think of a big … a guy that’s over to my house a lot, hanging out with my kids and my family, cutting up and laughing up and being that person in that room that you wanted.
“He knew that people were obviously going to be looking up to him because of his play and his stature and his size. I thought he did a great job of being in that role and helping the young guys in our room develop. Things that I know were important to him.
“So he was nothing but great for me this year.”
Becton played three seasons for Louisville, starting 35 games. At 6 feet, 7 inches tall and 364 pounds, Becton is rated one of the top three offensive linemen in the draft, a sure first-round selection.
According to a story in USA Today, NFL teams were informed of Becton’s test (The story link).
This is what the newspaper said about his status:
"Becton will now enter "Stage 1" of the league's intervention program for no more than 60 days, according to the new NFL collective bargaining agreement. In that stage, a medical director may require a player to submit to testing for substances of abuse as often as is required to evaluate the player adequately.
If he's not flagged again within those 60 days, he would assume the same status as a player who has never been referred to the program."
The Cleveland Browns are expected to be a team that would consider drafting Becton if he is available at the No. 10 pick. Browns general manager Andrew Berry was asked this week if the flagged test would influence the Browns’ decision. This is what he told cleveland.com:
“Suffice it to say, we’ll take all information into consideration when making a player decision,’’ he said (story link).
“I don’t think it really complicates matters that muchany prospect from a background perspective,’’ he said. “The reason is a lot of the work that we do is with individuals who have spent the last three or four years with these guys on a day-to-day basis.
"We’re very fortunate to live in the age of technology where we have Zoom, FaceTime and things of that nature. We were able to sit with most if not all of these guys at the combine. I think there have been enough touchpoints where we get a really good sense of who these guys are as individuals.’'
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