Teams pay more attention to draft picks' character

~ Commissioner's stance on misconduct gives teams pause.

CINCINNATI -- A psychologist who helps NFL teams assess a draft pick's character shakes his head when a troubled player is chosen, then turns out to be nothing but trouble.

"I've been telling teams for 25 years the same deal: You can't afford to take a guy like that," Robert Troutwine said.

Teams are listening -- for one weekend, anyway.

Commissioner Roger Goodell's crackdown on player misconduct, and his new policy holding franchises accountable when things go wrong, likely will make teams squeamish about taking draft-day risks.

Goodell made examples of Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones and Bengals receiver Chris Henry. Jones got a season-long suspension, and Henry got an eight-game punishment for misconduct.

Team executives got the message.

"They're going to run the risk that the commissioner may carry a heavy hand when it comes to teams that draft people who have known character issues," said Floyd Reese, the former Titans general manager who drafted Jones last year. "As a franchise, you're probably putting yourself in harm's way if you draft somebody with character issues."

The Cincinnati Bengals are the best example of how draft-day risks can deflate a franchise. They had nine players arrested during a nine-month span, six of them draft picks from the last two years. Two of them -- Henry and linebacker Odell Thurman -- are suspended by the league.

Coach Marvin Lewis said the Bengals will look more closely at character in this draft, but he thinks talk of teams being frightened away from players is overblown.

"I don't know that it's going to affect the teams quite as much as people think it's going to," Lewis said. "I think it will affect the players, because they have seen (Goodell) deal with things swiftly and harshly."

The San Diego Chargers are a close second to the Bengals in misconduct -- six players arrested, including linebacker Steve Foley, who was shot by an off-duty officer and released by the team in March.

General manager A.J. Smith said Goodell's crackdown hasn't changed the way his team evaluates draft picks.

"It didn't affect us at all," he said. "Everything with us and our investigative process is extensive. We do the best we can. We bring in good people with good character."

They can't say they don't have enough information.

The NFL does background checks that include school discipline, arrests, court cases, driving records and limited financial records. The checks are done on players invited to the league's combine, and the information is made available to teams.

Teams use various other methods to get information. This year, six NFL teams -- the Colts, Patriots, Eagles, Jets, Rams and Panthers -- are using Troutwine & Associates, Inc., to develop profiles on players. Troutwine, an industrial psychologist, uses a 75-question assessment that provides insights into a player's temperament, judgment and attitudes.