The NFL Draft is a crapshoot.
It's a fact proven year in and year out when can't-miss, once-in-a-generation prospects turn into busts and a relative unknown or two emerge to shock the football-viewing public.
That general viewing public is, of course, not privy to the information gathered by teams on prospects during closed-door interviews and the in-depth research probing into their pasts for a hopeful glimpse and relatively safe - fingers crossed - projection of their future.
Marcus Peters, a troubled but talented cornerback who was kicked off the Washington football team after personality clashes and issues with coaches became a continual problem, was already a questionable first-round target entering the pre-draft process.
Unfortunately for Peters, it seems his redemption tour aimed at proving the quality of character of the otherwise top-10 talent has not been particularly successful.
"Multiple sources have told us that Peters did not interview well at the Combine and hasn't convinced teams that he truly has changed. There are still plenty of teams that are skeptical and a number of them have ruled Peters out as a prospect," writes Charlie Champbell of WalterFootball.com.
As has been said time and again, all it takes is one team to fall in love with a prospect enough to make them a high selection - Tim Tebow, ahem, ahem - and it's not hard to envision that happening with Peters. Lance Zierlein, in his draft profile of Peters, refers to him as a "talented cover cornerback with size, ball skills and the confidence NFL teams are looking for," who compares well to Aqib Talib.
Were it not for his personality issues, Peters would be a surefire first-round selection. In the wake of his failed senior season and subsequently questionable combine interview efforts, that doesn't seem like it'll be the case.
"Three teams told us that they believe that Peters will not go in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft," writes Campbell. "Two of those three teams could consider a cornerback on Thursday night. They think that Peters is going to slip to the second day of the draft, similarly to other troubled cornerback prospects like the Cardinals' Tyrann Mathieu or the Rams' Janoris Jenkins."
Another highly touted player set for a more certain first-round drop is Nebraska pass-rusher Randy Gregory.
Gregory, as reported Thursday morning by NFL.com, tested positive for marijuana at the combine.
"I blame myself," Gregory said. "And I know it sounds cliché, but there's really no one else I can blame."
Gregory, 6-foot-5, 243-pounds, had appeared as a top selection in nearly every mock to this point. In his latest offering, ESPN's Todd McShay had him slotted fifth in the first-round to the Washington Redskins.
ESPN's other draft guru, Mel Kiper, had him going to the Chicago Bears at No. 7.
Now, neither of those scenarios seems possible.
"Am I worried? Yeah, I'm worried," Gregory said. "At the same time, I'm confident. I know I'm going to be all right in the end."
Gregory said he tested positive for marijuana twice as a member of the Cornhuskers.
"I was worse at Nebraska than I've ever been at any other time of my life," Gregory said. "But I know how I am now. I think if teams really look at how I am now more so than the past, they'll see I'm making strides to get better, as a person and as a player."
Perhaps the only saving grace for Gregory - an otherwise spotless prospect - at this point, is his willingness to take full responsibility for the failure in judgment.
"(Marijuana) could end my career," he said. "This incident right now is a step toward ending my career. The last thing I want to do is fail another drug test and be out of the league.
"I want it on the record. I want people to understand I know I messed up. I'm owning up to it. I realize it. But at the same time, I'm taking the right steps to get better and to fix it."
