Robert Nkemdiche Toeing Line Between Quirky and Nutty

The debate surrounding top NFL draft prospect Robert Nkemdiche is no longer about his talent.   It’s about how crazy (or not) he might be.

When it comes to pure physical skill, he might be the most explosive defensive lineman in the class.  That isn’t what is scaring teams to death about the idea of drafting him too early and why he may be in line for a drop.  It’s because they can’t be sure if the guy can be trusted away from the field.

Personality quirks are nothing new to the NFL.  Some of the greatest players in league history were also some of its most outlandish.  It’s not that teams can’t handle such players.  They don’t mind bringing in guys who are different and march to the beat of their own drum.  It is those players who act that way on the surface and then can all of sudden go off the deep end.  After all, as smart as coaches and executives are, they aren’t psychologists.

So what are they supposed to think when Nkemdiche says stuff like this?

"“ROBERT NKEMDICHE WANTS a pet panther. That’s how he plans to treat himself when he signs his rookie contract. He wants to take care of his family, and he wants to buy a panther….….Soon Nkemdiche is quadruple-tasking. He’s chugging. “Something about Mountain Dew, man.” He’s eavesdropping on a conversation between two 80-something men. “I like old people. There’s no pretentiousness.” He’s discussing his admiration for Pink Floyd. “Division Bell. It speaks to me.” And he’s watching Instagram videos of domesticated panthers. He likes the black ones, likes how their eyes glow. He stares at shots of people playing with panthers, wrestling with them as if they were dogs, nudging faces, fearless when they open their mouths. “It’s sick.”It’s insane.“No, it’s not. They’re like cats.”Robert Nkemdiche is 21 years old, jacked, polite and hardworking. But he’s a creative spirit entering a world where creative spirits are looked upon with suspicion and disdain. He was once considered a top-five pick. Now nobody knows. For his part, Nkemdiche can’t fathom how a panther might be an issue, just as he can’t understand why falling out of a hotel room — “one mistake” — coupled with concern over the influence of his older brother Denzel might end up costing him millions. Nkemdiche is more than an immensely talented guy with a mild self-destructive streak. He’s a test case of what happens when a weird guy meets a weird process.”"

There are a lot of teams that prefer to run their organization like a business or a corporation.  They want players who treat it as such.  Show up for work, do your job and go home.  Free spirits, class clowns and unique characters are frowned upon.  It takes a particular kind of coach to embrace players of this type and harder still to convince his bosses that taking a chance on them is worth it.  He understands them and feels he can get through to them.

Such coaches are not that plentiful in the NFL.  There may be a handful at best.  The challenge they face is making the case that the talent is too much to pass up and the personality is not self-destructive.  That is what some around the league are doing with Robert Nkemdiche.  Is he just an immature kid with a few oddities, or is he a ticking time bomb that will implode the moment he’s exposed to the riches and spotlight of pro football?

That unknown is what teams don’t like, and it’s the reason he’s going to drop on draft day.