In the aftermath of Nebraska pass rusher Randy Gregory’s failed drug test at the Scouting Combine, scuttlebutt emerged in league circles that the other shoe eventually would drop. It apparently now has. And I’m having a hard time making sense of it.
Albert Breer and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media report in a joint item, well, something.
“At least three general managers view him as a top-five talent. But according to more than a dozen coaches, scouts, personnel chiefs and GMs, there is concern about Gregory’s ability to handle the mental rigors of professional football,” Breer and Rapoport write. “And just how far he drops in this week’s draft will likely hinge on the individual psychological profiles (and the results of related testing) put together by each team, according to multiple veteran evaluators. He has been taken off a several team’s draft boards, according to multiple sources.”
There’s no elaboration on why or how Gregory lacks the “ability to handle the mental rigors of professional football.” The entire article, much of which is positive, creates the impression that the writers, editors, and/or lawyers were treading lightly.
Regardless, it leaves the reader with little tangible information that would make Gregory any different from any other man in his early 20s who is preparing to ascend from the college level to the NFL. For many players, there are questions about his ability to handle the mental rigors of professional football.
Earlier today, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports gave a far more dire — but even more vague — assessment of Gregory on The Dan Patrick Show: “I wouldn’t touch him . . . from what teams say . . . there are other issues,” Glazer said, via producer Paul Pabst’s Twitter account.
It’s not clear what those issues are, other than questions about his ability to handle the mental rigors of professional football.