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2017 NFL Draft Odds: The All-Controversy Team

Sascha Paruk

by Sascha Paruk in NFL Football

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

Jabrill Peppers with Michigan in 2015
Jabrill Peppers circa 2015. Image: Ken Lund (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/]

It’s unfortunate, but every year we see NFL draft prospects embroiled in controversy. Sometimes it’s inane, like last year, when someone Tweeted a picture of Laremy Tunsil smoking weed hours before the draft. Sometimes, it’s incredibly serious, like today when Gareon Conley was accused of sexual assault.

Nothing has been proved at this point, but Conley is going to tumble down the draft board no matter what. If he’s guilty, he obviously deserves to. (The value of an incarcerated player is pretty low.) If he’s innocent, his future and his finances were just unfairly damaged.

While the accusations leveled against Conley are the most serious, he’s from the only player whose future is in question heading into Thursday’s draft. Alabama product Reuben Foster has found his name in the news for all the wrong reasons, as has Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s Good Samaritan of the Year, Joe Mixon, is entirely off some draft boards thanks to his assault of a woman in 2014. Will the whole NFL band together and say “there’s no place in our league for men who hit women”? I’d love to answer in the affirmative. But I’m not that gullible.


Over/Under Draft Position

Gareon Conley (CB, Ohio State): 73.5

Whatever the truth of the matter, this is an incredibly sad story.

At this point, only Conley and his accuser know what happened. But I have been around the league for a minute now, and I know something too: Conley’s on-field potential will convince a team to draft the alleged rapist.

If he was already convicted, no team would draft him. He would have no place in the league. So the socially responsible thing to do would be to let the legal process play out. But NFL teams aren’t known for their social responsibility. The erstwhile first-rounder will still be drafted (though maybe not on day one), and then the owner and GM will hide behind “presumption of innocence” as the inevitable backlash ensues.

When is he going to hear his name called? The Bengals, who own the 73rd overall pick, have never had an issue about having criminals on their team.

Joe Mixon (RB, Oklahoma): 59.5

Mixon was convicted of “misdemeanor assault” in 2014 after punching a woman in the head. Don’t let the “misdemeanor” label fool you. This was a very serious assault. The victim ended up in surgery with broken bones in her face. While she may have pushed him first, his response completely unwarranted.

Mixon would later get into a confrontation with a meter maid who gave him a parking ticket. He didn’t hit her, but did throw the ticket in her face and inch his vehicle towards her. It’s just more evidence of his sterling character.

A lot of teams want nothing to do with Mixon. If I were a GM, I’d be in that boat. He seems like a complete piece of **** human. It’s naive to think every team feels the same way, of course. While Mixon’s name is tainted and whoever drafts him will have to explain to fans why he deserves a chance, he’s not so toxic that the negative PR will trump his potential on-field benefits. Sigh. That’s the sad reality of the NFL when it comes to players with unique physical gifts.

Just look at Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs took a gamble on Hill (who also had an assault conviction) in the fifth round last year and it paid huge dividends on the field. With Jamaal Charles gone, they could use some help in the backfield. Grabbing Mixon at no. 59 is as likely a scenario as any.

Reuben Foster (ILB, Alabama): 10.5

Reuben Foster had a rough Combine. First, he got into a physical altercation with a doctor which got him sent home. Then he tested positive for a “dilute sample” (meaning he had an abnormal amount of water in his urine, which is often used to mask the presence of banned substances).

A lot of people have come to Foster’s defense regarding the confrontation with the physician, including Nick Saban. And the dilute sample, on its own, probably wouldn’t be a big deal. But a pattern is starting to form with Foster, and it could lead to the top-ten prospect sliding a little. If he gets by the Bengals at no. 9 and Bills at no. 10, he could have a bit of a wait as the next few teams all have bigger needs: New Orleans (secondary); Philly (receiver); Arizona (safety and QB); Cleveland (everything??).

Jabrill Peppers (S, Michigan): 49.5

Peppers’ physical gifts are undeniable; he wowed at the Combine and throughout his college career at Michigan. But where he fits on an NFL field is a huge question mark: he’s not big enough to be a linebacker and lacks the coverage skills to be an elite defensive back.

His “tweener” status already had him a day-two pick in many mocks. Then he tested positive for a “dilute sample” at the Combine, just like Foster. With a lot of the pre-draft narrative already unfavorable to Peppers, he needed to stay clean (so to speak) in the build-up. Dilute samples aren’t a huge deal to most teams, but expect it to hurt his stock more than a guy like Foster, whom more teams will covet for his on-field traits.

I could see him falling to the safety-needy Bucs in the second round (pick no. 50), but not much farther than that.

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