Todd McShay: Hard to get somebody to say something positive about Nkemdiche
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Former Ole Miss star defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche is the enigma. He’s the most notable high-risk, high-reward player in this year’s NFL Draft.
On Wednesday during a conference call, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay was asked about Nkemdiche’s draft prospects, and he had some things to say that wouldn’t please Nkemdiche or his agent.
“I’ll be honest with you. It’s hard to get somebody to say something really positive about Nkemdiche right now from the league,” McShay said. “There’s a lot of specifics that I’m not privy to in meetings, and different teams will react differently to the information, but Robert Nkemdiche in talking to maybe six or seven representatives from teams, whether it’s scouts or GMs or coaches, he did not do himself any favors at the combine.
“There’s enough concern … ultimately it’s about trust,” McShay continued. “Do you trust this individual to handle more fame than he’s ever had before in his life, more money than he’s ever had before in his life and more free time than he’s ever had before? I think there are a lot of people in the league, decision-makers, right now that are really questioning that.”
McShay did say that Nkemdiche is one of the top five most naturally talented players in the draft. However, he believes there are enough options that Nkemdiche may fall out of the first round completely.
He turned heads at the combine with his on-field performance, but he did the same off the field when he said former teammate Laremy Tunsil was present at the Atlanta hotel in which he fell.
Nkemdiche also admitted to taking plays off and lacking consistent effort.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
