Scouting Report: DE/OLB Randy Gregory- Nebraska

Pros:

• Long, athletic frame that is ideal for edge rushers.
• Really good speed and closing burst, that allows him to win on the outside.
• Appears to have the agility and quickness to play in space.
• Versatile rusher, lined up all over the field for Nebraska.
• Quick, powerful hands that he uses at a high level, to disengage from blockers.
• Sets up his pass rushes well, will fake where he intends to go and change his rush if a blocker overcompensates.
• Very good in pursuit.

Cons:

• Tested positive for marijuana at the Combine, will call into question his decision making.
• Needs a better first step (though that may have had more to do with scheme)
• Has trouble locating the ball carrier at times, and doesn’t always finish the play.
• Underweight, will be very undersized in a 4-3 and is even undersized in a 3-4

Overview:

Randy Gregory came into the year as one of the favorites among pass rushers and another good season kept him in the mix as the first edge guy to be taken in the draft. A questionable combine though has perhaps dropped his stock to more of the middle of the first round if not later.

The biggest issue coming out of the combine was his positive marijuana test from the event. Not only was it bad judgement in general, but this was a known event that he knew he was going to be tested at. Getting caught there shows extremely poor judgement. Also it has come out that he had previous failed tests at Nebraska. If this is a trend, that will concern some NFL teams.

The other concerning thing coming out at the Combine was his weight of 235 lbs. that he reported at. That is very undersized, particularly for a player with the frame to put on more weight. It’s really tough to justify him for 4-3 teams, and even 3-4 teams will wonder if he can hold up at that weight.

On the field Gregory has a nice combination of smarts and skill, which with the right coaching should translate to a highly effective rusher. One of the biggest concerns with him was his lack of a first step, but part of that was apparently due to scheme. If he can transfer his natural speed and burst into his first step (which will probably take some time), he could be devastating on the edge.

He’s more advanced than most rushers with his hand usage and his ability to set up pass rushers with fake steps, but he has to have a better understanding of when to use those tools.

He needs more refining and a lot of film work to understand how to best use his talents, but if the off the field stuff checks out he could end up being the best edge rusher from this class.