In what can be viewed as either very poor decision-making or as possibly the shrewdest approach we've seen thus far this draft season, the Houston Texans are reportedly eyeing a couple of 2015 NFL Draft prospects with top-10 talent who, because of off-the-field issues, may be available much later in the looming April NFL rookie meat market.
Nebraska pass-rusher Randy Gregory and former Washington cornerback Marcus Peters have seen their draft stock fall for differing reasons in the recent past, meaning both players, widely viewed as amongst the top-10 talents in the entirety of the 2015 NFL Draft, should be available much later - Gregory, possibly in the mid-to-late first-round and Peters, potentially in the second.
Texans head coach Bill O'Brien and GM Rick Smith, per Charlie Campbell of Walter Football, are looking closely at both.
"Both players have the talent to be high first-rounders, but are visiting many teams because of their issues. One of them is the Houston Texans. Sources say that Gregory will visit the Texans before the draft and Peters visited Houston already," reports Campbell.
Gregory, who failed a drug test at the NFL rookie scouting combine, is reportedly still hopeful of going in the first-round, but even that may be in question at this point due to questions teams have about his life off the field.
"Numerous teams are interested in meeting with Gregory to update his progress since the Combine and pro day," writes Campbell. "A general manager of a team picking late in the first round said that Gregory could slide in the 20s and there is the possibility he falls out of the first round. Another general manager thought that Gregory was too talented with too many teams needing a pass-rusher for him to slide out of the first."
While the Texans wouldn't seem to have a glaring need at the pass-rushing position, with Jadeveon Clowney still working his way back from microfracture surgery, Whitney Mercilus entering the final year of his rookie deal and Brooks Reed off to greener NFL pastures, the addition of Gregory would by no means be a bad choice and could eventually prove more necessary than presumed depending on Clowney's status.
As for Peters, the Texans again don't seem to have a glaring need at the cornerback position with Johnathan Joseph and the recently added Kareem Jackson already in place, but in today's NFL it's always best to have three starting-caliber corners and the former Washington product, despite his off-the-field issues, is worthy of a fairly high pick come April.
According to Campbell, he may be available as late as the second-round.
"A few weeks ago, we surveyed five teams and three of them thought that Peters would slip out of the first round after getting kicked off of Washington's team last year. Sources from multiple teams said Peters didn't do all that well interviewing with teams, so the Texans having a shot at Peters in Round 2 could be remote, but possible."
Peters went to the NFL rookie scouting combine on a mission to prove his issues were behind him during interviews with teams, but it seems that may not have come to pass.
That could prove beneficial to Houston.
Peters is a talented cover corner with good ball skills, elite confidence and the ability to play with physicality. He lacks polish and his character questions are a concern, but like Gregory, if the Texans and O'Brien feel as though they have a strong base of veteran personalities in the locker room - and the presences of J.J. Watt and Vince Wilfork suggest they do - they could feel fairly safe taking a chance on either or both players in the 2015 NFL Draft.
