Atlanta Falcons second-round draft pick Jalen Collins, a cornerback from LSU, is now subject to the NFL's substance-abuse program after previously failing multiple drug tests.
"Yes, a player in that situation is subject to being entered into the program," league spokesman Greg Aiello said Saturday. "It is handled on a confidential basis by the medical professionals that run the program."
Collins admitted failing three tests while at the school. He did not specify when those failed tests occurred or what substance was involved. Multiple teams said Collins' failed tests were related to marijuana, based on their pre-draft reports.
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff declined to comment about the specifics related to Collins' failed drug tests. Dimitroff and Falcons coach Dan Quinn did express confidence in Collins moving forward.
"When a guy has a setback, how do you recover from it? Are you able to come back through the other way and do well? And that was certainly the case with Jalen," Quinn said. "All of us have had setbacks off the field, in some way. For a guy like him to come back and do well, it answered a lot of questions for me."
Said Dimitroff, "This is a situation where we're very mindful of making sure that the people fit in, and we believe that he's a good fit for this organization. ... And the further research that we did with him and people with our contacts at LSU -- Dan's as well as ours and our staff -- we feel very confident about the fact that (Collins) is going to be in the right place here and be with the right people. He's heading in the right direction on everything. He's definitely a good person that we're looking forward to working with."
Collins said the off-the-field issues are behind him.
"Those tests were all in the past," Collins said during a conference call with reporters. "And I was making some bad decisions [and] not hanging with the right people. But what I told the Falcons, and what I've been telling everybody, is that stuff is behind me. I've been making smarter decisions all this past year. Trying to become a better person and a better football player. I think it's been helping me."
Another prospect, Dallas Cowboys draftee Randy Gregory, entered the first stage of the league's substance abuse program after admitting to testing positive for marijuana at the NFL combine. Gregory was a Top 10 prospect who dropped to the second round.