Gareon Conley watched his draft stock fall after allegations of sexual assault against him made the news earlier this week prior to the NFL Draft. Once a probable top-15 pick, analysts wondered if the highly skilled cornerback would even be drafted in the first round.
Then the issue got partially cleared up when Conley passed a lie detector test after an interested team asked him to submit to a polygraph, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Source: A team that is interested in Gareon Conley in the 1st rd asked him to submit to a polygraph by a certified administrator. He passed
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 28, 2017
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Ravens administered the test but still passed on Conley with the 16th pick.
No matter where Conley got drafted on Thursday, there were going to be tons of big reactions. Here’s what people had to say on Twitter when he went 24th overall to the Raiders:
No idea what to make of Gareon Conley's legal issue, but he can play.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 28, 2017
Raiders wouldn't take that bit of a risk if they didn't feel Conley will be cleared of sexual assault charges. McKenzie did his homework.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) April 28, 2017
The important thing about Conley is he didn't express any political opinions about the national anthem or the judicial system.
— Michael Erler (@MichaelErlerSBN) April 28, 2017
Conley's decision making should improve when he moves to Las Vegas
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) April 28, 2017
If Conley is innocent, I get it. And maybe he is cleared soon. But there is some risk. More risk than a bum shoulder. #Raiders
— Bill Williamson (@BWilliamsonNFL) April 28, 2017
Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie told media the Raiders did their research before drafting Conley, so it’s pretty clear the lie detector test played a role in the cornerback sneaking back into the first round.
Reggie McKenzie: "We did our due diligence throughout this process. We trust our research, reports on Mr. Conley. We feel really good."
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) April 28, 2017
#Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie said they've done the research and our confident they can trust Gareon Conley. pic.twitter.com/6ZZD518UHA
— Jimmy Durkin (@Jimmy_Durkin) April 28, 2017
Asked Reggie if he was told charges won’t be pressed against Conley. “I don’t want to get into it but we feel really good about this pick.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) April 28, 2017
However, just because Conley passed a polygraph test, doesn’t mean this issue will necessarily go away immediately. It remains to be seen if the accuser will press charges.
