Despite having put up 16.5 sacks, 24.5 tackles-for-loss and two interceptions while in college at Nebraska, sleek pass-rusher Randy Gregory wound up falling all the way to the late second-round of the 2015 NFL Draft before the Dallas Cowboys and GM Jerry Jones scooped him up in what may be a potential draft steal rivaled only by Dallas' post-draft plucking of tackle La'el Collins - if you're counting at home, along with actual Cowboys first-round pick corner/safety Byron Jones, that's three first-round talents amassed by Jones without the loss of any extra assets.
Gregory, now trying to move past his draft-day slide, admits that it was difficult to watch as his stock plummeted, but also sounds like a young man who knows much, if not all, of the blame for that falls at his own feet.
"You just have to be patient. It was frustrating, but I dug my own grave and I owned up to it," Gregory said recently, via Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. "The best thing I could was learn from it. I think I have learned from it, and I think I'm with a great organization, the Dallas Cowboys, where they can help me. In just the couple of months I've been there, they've done a lot. I have a support group there and they believe in me. I'm glad they believe in me."
Gregory was widely viewed as a surefire top-10 pick and likely top-5 selection in the draft despite his skinny frame - even now, Gregory goes about 235, 240. Unfortunately various reports emerged in the weeks leading up to the first-round that he had failed a drug test at the NFL Rookie Scouting Combine and that other unnamed personal and perhaps psychological issues - some pegged them as depression, anxiety and even potential bi-polar disorder - were scaring teams and causing them to question his NFL viability.
Despite those concerns, the pass rush-needy Cowboys - they finished last season ranked 28th in the league in sacks - took a chance on Gregory and are hopeful that their support system and their bevy of talented, but focused players like quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten can keep him in line and on task and help him develop into the pass rushing terror the entire league thought he could be before those unfortunate pre-draft reports and rumors.
