Denver Broncos Trade Up for Shane Ray
There's nothing like a second chance.
Now, let's see what Shane Ray does with it.
The Denver Broncos' executive vice president, John Elway, selected the former Missouri defensive end with the 23rd pick in the 2015 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
After being cited for marijuana possession on Monday, football analysts predicted that Ray, who they originally considered a Top 10-caliber pick, would suffer a free-fall and maybe slip out of first-round consideration altogether.
However, Elway and the Broncos decided to roll the dice on Ray, trading up to land him. Ray wants them to know that they won't be sorry.
"I guaranteed Mr. Elway that I will not have any issues," Ray told reporters, including those from NFL.com. "As I said before, I'm not a person who has character issues at all."
Ray added: "Just because I was cited for marijuana possession doesn't mean I'm this huge smoker or some huge drug addict. If anybody looks at the police report, they'll understand I wasn't even under the influence. I haven't had any marijuana issues in my career. That's not a concern for me at all."
That being said, Ray will still have to begin his NFL career in the league's substance abuse program and will be subject to frequent tests for two years, sources told NFL.com.
Still, Ray wants the teams who passed on him to "know they made the hugest mistake of this draft."
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(Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
