Randy Gregory 2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report
One of the most talented but troubled players in the 2015 NFL Draft class, Nebraska pass rusher Randy Gregory is the classic risk/reward player you see come along.
Gregory, while facing his own troubles off the field, is a phenomenal athlete with an intriguing size/speed combination and overall phenomenal athletic ability.
Strengths
Where to begin?
Gregory’s game is pretty complete, and while there are holes, he’s done a phenomenal job of developing his pass rush repertoire after only being at Nebraska for two seasons. Coming from Community College, Gregory was one of the best recruits in college football three years ago, and he did not disappoint.
He earned All-American and All-Big Ten honors while racking up 17.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, and 34 QB hurries.
Gregory is 6-foot-6, so he obviously has great arm length and uses it well. He has a long, wiry frame and while you might expect him to lack functional strength he really doesn’t. In fact, Gregory’s initial punch and ability to drive bigger, probably stronger offensive linemen backward is jaw dropping.
Once you’ve picked your jaw up off the floor, we can get back to scouting Gregory.That’s Ereck Flowers he just abused, a player some expect to be a first round draft pick as well.
One common misconception about Gregory is that people think he doesn’t have a good motor. I didn’t find any evidence of that on tape. In fact, I see a really patient player who knows his role on every play, and pursues the play no matter how far away from it he is.
Almost to a fault, Gregory stays at home pretty well and knows his assignments. I’ll talk more about this later, but perhaps a reason for his dip in numbers this past year was more than just the number of double teams he received. Gregory clearly didn’t have a green light to just burst upfield on every play, and he stuck to his coaches direction, it appears.
Another area that stands out in Gregory’s game is his ability to play multiple positions, which speaks to his football IQ and versatility moving forward. You see him play RDE, LDE, Joker LB, and he even drops into coverage. The Nebraska defense is pretty traditional, but they had to work to get Gregory freed up from all the double teams and chips he faced.
Speaking of double teams, if you’re wondering at times why Gregory might have looked a little bit taken out of the play at times when watching him, it’s because that was by the offense’s design. Gregory’s height allowed teams to initially let him engage high, then the offensive lineman might let him go to a running back or tight end that was waiting to cut him at his feet. Until one time, he figured it out…
Still, the best aspect to Gregory’s game right now is his tenacity and swim move, which is second to none among pass rushers in this draft. The swim is Gregory’s patented move, and he makes linemen look stupid at times when he uses it properly.
I feel strongly that this is the kind of player that NFL teams are going to be really conflicted about due to the off-field issues, because he’s so physically gifted, but he is not without flaw…
Weaknesses
Gregory has a tendency to think too much when he plays. What I mean by that is, and I spoke about this earlier when I talked about his discipline to do what the coaches tell him to, is that he is often the last one off the ball not because he’s not the quickest, but because he he’s got gap responsibility or a stunt and he looks like he’s trying to let things play out in his mind before they happen.
He has a repertoire of pass rush moves, including that incredible swim move we talked about earlier, but he appears to lack the ability to consistently apply it or feel the game as it comes to him, rather than trying to force his way into things.
Overall, his size didn’t deter him from blasting offensive lineman off of their feet at times, but I think it became a problem and you can see that very clearly when Nebraska is absolutely undressed by Melvin Gordon and the Wisconsin Badgers offensive line. Gregory is eaten alive by the power offensive line scheme, and that is something he really needs to work on going forward. It’s not something he can’t correct, and I think playing as a linebacker in the NFL will really help with that.
The other thing you have to consider before you draft Gregory is whether or not his off-field antics are going to become a pattern in the NFL. Considering he’s already in the NFL’s substance abuse program, there’s a significant ‘buyer beware’ tag attached to this kid.
The shocking/sad part about it is, apparently no one was surprised. That’s not good.
If Gregory can’t clean up his image off the field, this is a near waste of a pick. He needs to be coached as a person off the field, but he’s acknowledged that more than anyone and I believe he’s genuine when he talks about wanting to be the best possible football player he can be rather than letting smoking marijuana ruin his career.
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