NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans traded the first pick (33rd overall) of the second round, moving down seven spots to No. 40, and still landed a player they liked.
But after they selected wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham of Missouri, team officials and their newest player had to answer for his past.
Green-Beckham was kicked out of Missouri after two marijuana arrests and an accusation that he pushed a woman down a set of stairs.
"I know I took advantage of my opportunities at Missouri and I've become a better person and I put my past behind me," he said in a conference call with Nashville media. "Now, playing for the Tennessee Titans I'm going to give them my all, and still be a great athlete and still keep my off-the-field issues like in the past and still continue to be better."
Green-Beckham was asked several questions about his past issues.
"From what the media said, didn't nobody have my story," he said. "Didn't nobody know what really happened.
"They only had one person's story. There's always two ways. I mean, their not being able to take my story, it put a bad vibe on me for people to think. 'Oh yeah, they're believing this girl or these other things.' They're thinking already I'm a bad person but don't nobody know what really happened."
He was asked if was arrested multiple times for marijuana.
"Yeah, I only got arrested twice for marijuana," he said.
Did you push a woman down a flight of stairs?
"No, I did not," he said.
The Titans see a player who stayed out of trouble after settling in at Oklahoma in 2014, where he practiced, trained and went to class but never played. A waiver to play was immediately dismissed by the NCAA and he never played there because of transfer rules.
At 6-foot-5, 237 pounds, the Titans see a receiver who can be a key weapon for No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota, their new quarterback.
General manager Ruston Webster chose two players in the 2014 draft who had past issues: Taylor Lewan and Zach Mettenberger. Both were productive players who stayed out of the news as rookies.
Webster said he knows the onus is on him if Green-Beckham fails.
"[The finger] will be pointed at me if he has issues off the field, which he wouldn't be the first NFL player to have issues off the field, or if he's not a good enough player the finger will be pointed at me as well," Webster said. "I accept that."
Coach Ken Whisenhunt said Green-Beckham is unlike the team's current crop of pass-catchers. The coach likes the receiver's ability to get out of breaks, win one-on-ones and go up and get the ball.
Green-Beckham said he thinks he can be a player in the mold of Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant and hopes to score "at least" 10 touchdowns as a rookie.
"There is not one day that I've taken lightly, I've always competed and I've always stayed focused," he said.
The Titans also picked up the No. 108 pick in the fourth round and No. 245 in the seventh in the deal that led to the Green-Beckham pick.