It shocks me to no end when I see Bradley Roby in the first round of NFL mock drafts. We can start with the fact that his junior year fell way below expectations on the field. Maybe he wasn’t fully 100% healthy, but that again is another concern. Considering his off the field issues; with another one popping up today, it’s time to take him out of the first round of your NFL mock draft.
His draft stock is falling now, after it was revealed that Bradley Roby was charged with a OVI, operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
From WBNS TV Channel 10:
Court documents show that the incident occurred on April 20 and a report was filed on April 22.
Columbus police tell 10TV officers were dispatched to Vine Street on a report of a person passed out behind the wheel of a car.
When officers arrived, they were unable to get the driver’s attention. They opened the unlocked door and say they noticed the odor of alcohol.
Police say another officer was called to conduct a field sobriety test, which the driver failed.
And the beginning of last season, Roby was arrested and charged with battery after being kicked out of a bar at IU. The charges were later dropped. Urban Meyer suspended him for a game. Urban Meyer having to suspend his players is quite a common occurrence; at Ohio State, Florida, Utah…pretty much everywhere he’s been.
So that’s two off the field incidents for Roby. Then you have some malfeasance on the field; as Roby got ejected from the win over the Iowa Hawkeyes for targeting. Today, targeting in football has pretty much become synonymous with Brandon Meriweather, as his reputation precedes him. Now Bradley Roby’s style of play is nowhere even remotely close to the dirty style of Meriweather, but perhaps we might start seeing some comparisons between Bradley Roby and Brandon Meriweather now by NFL scouts. Meriweather was involved in a shooting incident and suspended for a brawl while he was at Miami. In 2012, he was arrested on suspicion of DWI.
If you’re Roby’s agent, you definitely don’t want your client to be labeled the next Meriweather. However, when you have two ultra-talented defensive backs that each have a OVI, a fight, and being reprimanded for targeting in their past….maybe Bradley Roby is just misunderstood? Maybe he’s just been in the wrong place in the wrong time, a few too many times.
He might be a better guy than his reputation indicates; but at the same time, he’s no Curtis Granderson. His personality is every bit as arrogant, flamboyant and off-putting as Johnny Manziel. And if you’re gonna devalue Manziel’s draft stock due to the boastful, cocky things he says and does, then you must apply the same standard to Roby.
Bradley Roby made headlines in 2011 for talking trash to Illini WR and future first round draft pick A.J. Jenkins before the two teams met in midseason. To his credit, he backed it up as the Buckeyes won convincingly. However, Jenkins still put up some decent statistics that day. He was not shut down by Roby by any means. Bradley Roby’s Twitter biography read “2014 National Champion” during the 2013 college football season. Well, we know that ended up. Darquezze Denard and Michigan State ended that hype. Who can forget the iconic photo of Urban Meyer eating cold Papa John’s by himself on a golf cart in the wee hours of the morning?
Alright, so let’s say Bradley Roby is a genuinely good guy, and the arrogant trash talking is irrelevant. Maybe it is. And his legal incidents….well, he’s not going to jail or anything. He hasn’t committed any serious crimes. Okay. I’ll give you that. Maybe you think the targeting call that got him ejected was a non-starter. Okay, we’ll dismiss all these potential red flags, and keep him in the first round.
A strong effort at the NFL Scouting Combine is what keeps Roby in the first round of many mocks, for now. Roby was electric in running a 4.39-second 40-yard dash and registering a 38.5″ vertical leap, confirming his freakish athleticism at 5’11” and 194 pounds. And he made the very exclusive list of prospects invited to draft night, an extremely important indicator of the interest NFL GMs have in him.
However….
Did you see what Wisconsin WR Jared Abbrederis, a 4th round pick AT BEST, did to Bradley Roby? Did you see what the Clemson receivers did to the Ohio State secondary? These were far from the only receivers that torched Roby and his teammates. Connor Cook and MSU, far from being a passing juggernaut, did pretty much what they wanted over the OSU secondary in the Big Ten title game.
Bradley Roby may turn out to be a NFL shutdown corner. He could be the next Richard Sherman. He might be a model citizen. However, given all the drawbacks, he shouldn’t be a first round pick. And if you still have Roby in the first round of your mock draft…time to wake up.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also a frequent guest on national talk radio. Banks is a former contributor to NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, who’s been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)