Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said at a pre-draft news conference Wednesday that Baltimore has brought in Oklahoma wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham and Washington cornerback Marcus Peters for visits.
Green-Beckham and Peters are among the most talented players at their positions in the draft, but both come with baggage: Green-Beckham was dismissed from Missouri in April 2014 for various off-field issues and sat out last season after transferring to Oklahoma, per NCAA rules. Peters was kicked off the team at Washington in early November for issues with the coaching staff.
Green-Beckham has an intriguing size-speed ratio -- he measured 6-foot-5 1/8 and 237 pounds in February at the NFL Scouting Combine, where he ran a 4.49 40-yard dash. Baltimore picks 26th in the first round, and finding a wide receiver figures to be a top draft priority for the club. The Ravens' leading receiver last season was Steve Smith, who turns 36 next month.
But cornerback also is a position of need. The projected starting corners right now are Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb, and depth is iffy at the position. Peters (5-11 5/8, 197) isn't a blazer, but he is athletic and physical and appears to have the necessary skill set to be a press-man corner.
Green-Beckham is No. 24 on NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah's list of the draft's top 50 prospects, and Jeremiah said he "has arguably the biggest upside of any wide receiver in the draft class." Peters is ranked as the No. 31 prospect in the draft by Jeremiah, who touts the corner's "good size, play speed and ball skills."
Peters is considered a first-rounder by all six NFL Media analysts that have posted mock drafts, and one (Lance Zierlein) has him going to the Ravens. Two of the six have Green-Beckham going in the first round.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
