It's been an interesting few days for Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby. Considered one of the best defensive backs in the 2014 NFL Draft and a likely first-round pick, he made front-page news for an incident last week and pleaded guilty Tuesday to physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Roby won't spend any time in jail, thanks to an agreement with prosecutors, but the headlines the episode created were undoubtedly a bit of a hit to his stock just over a week before the draft. While some analysts moved him down their draft boards and rumors popped up saying it might be enough to move him out of the first round, NFL Media Analyst Charles Davis believes the issue has become a bit overblown after reading the full report.
"He's still going in the first round," Davis said on "Path to the Draft." "This guy is too talented. With what happened, I don't think it's nearly enough to take him off most people's boards. He's too talented, and most people will look at him as maybe the second corner off the board."
The 5-foot-11, 194-pounder is known for his aggressiveness on the field and ability to support the run from the corner position. Roby is NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock's fourth-ranked player at his position and was recently invited to New York City to attend the draft in person.
NFL.com mock drafts have him pegged as a middle of the first round selection, going as high as 15th overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers to as low as 24th overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. Even with the latest incident, however, Roby is rated high enough to end up going even earlier than expected when draft night rolls around in May.
"I think he has a chance to be that second corner off the board," Jeremiah said. "When you go back and watch him on last year's tape, I thought he was the most talented cornerback in the entire draft class. I loved him. Then you come into this year, and he's very up and down, very inconsistent."
"Here's the other thing about Bradley Roby -- he was ready to come out last year," added Davis. "I think he had a little bit of NFL hangover last year and wasn't quite ready to go. Bradley Roby the last part of the year was as good of a corner as there was in the country."
It only takes one team to fall in love with Roby's game on the field, and if they can look past the issues off it, there's a chance he winds up not having to wait long in the green room when draft rolls around at Radio City Music Hall.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
