Kevin Colbert: Team leaks 'horrible' for NFL, draft prospects

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert denounced the leaking of information about draft-eligible players Monday and all but said the practice of doing so to disguise teams' draft intentions has to stop.

"I think it's horrible," Colbert said at his annual pre-draft news conference with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. "I think it's really bad for our profession when people use whatever means they use to get information out to try to influence the draft and they talk about a kid's test score, a kid's injury, a kid's character. I think that's awful. It's disrespectful to our profession, it's disrespectful to the game, it's disrespectful to the kid.

"And knowing that we really don't pay attention to it. We don't believe in mock drafts and what people are saying about other teams because so much of it is misinformation. You'd just lose your mind trying to figure out what everyone's going to do. We're going to be true to what we do and feel good about it and live with it."

Information about top prospects inevitably leaks leading up to the draft, and the practice of diversion, passed off as smoke screens, is as prevalent at this time of the year as mock drafts.

Among this year's leaks are Nebraska defensive end/outside linebackerRandy Gregoryfailing a drug test at the NFL scouting combine and LSU cornerbackJalen Collinsfailing multiple drug tests in college.

The Steelers hosted Gregory for a pre-draft visit, and Tomlin ate dinner with Collins the night before LSU's pro day. The Steelers also brought Washington cornerback Marcus Peters to Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit. Peters may be the most talented cornerback in the draft, but he has some baggage after getting kicked off the Huskies' team in November following a series of run-ins with a new coaching staff.

Colbert said the Steelers do not eliminate players from their draft board as a general rule if they had an issue in college such as a failed drug test, a suspension or dismissal from the team.

It is a case-by-case basis, Colbert said, when the Steelers evaluate players who are potential character risks.

"We're going to find out as much as we can about a person that's had some type of issue," Colbert said. "You sort out what's real and what's rumor. If you figure out what's real, then you figure out whether you can deal with it and whether you want to deal with it, and that's what we'll try to do. You just can't take the public part of it and say this is it. It's our job to get to the root of the matter."