NFL Draft 2016: Is Robert Nkemdiche biggest boom-or-bust prospect?
Former Ole Miss Rebels defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche has the talent to be a future Pro Bowler but also the off-field concerns to be a massive draft bust.
Robert Nkemdiche came to Ole Miss as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit and a player who looked ready to play in the NFL as a high school senior. Three years later, Nkemdiche is preparing for the 2016 NFL Draft where he could be the biggest wild card in the draft.
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The 6-4, 294-pound defensive tackle looks the part physically and didn’t disappoint at February’s NFL Scouting Combine when he ran a 4.87 40 and turned in a 35-inch vertical jump. However, when you look at the film you see a player whose production didn’t match his potential. Coupled with Nkemdiche’s off-field concerns, including a highly publicized arrest fall from a hotel stemming from being drunk and his use of synthetic marijuana.
Further, Nkemdiche said he took the fall for others in the hotel room that night, including best friend and teammate and potential No. 1 overall pick Laremy Tunsil. If that’s how he treats his best friend, how will he treat his enemies? All these factors leave NFL Draft analyst Bucky Brooks to tag Nkemdiche as the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in the draft.
“Nkemdiche is the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in the draft. If you can figure out what he is and what motivates him, you could uncover a star. I liken him to Darnell Dockett. If he plays, he can be a guy who can be a perennial Pro Bowl player,” Brooks said on NFL Network.
Nkemdiche has been a better physical specimen than he was a football player during his three-year career at Ole Miss that ended prematurely after he was suspended for the Sugar Bowl after the hotel fall.
He only had 13 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks last year as a junior. Sure, he was getting double-teamed often, but all great defensive linemen receive extra attention , so that’s no excuse.
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He has 19 career tackles for loss and seven career sacks. There were 12 players who had more tackles for loss in 2015 alone, including Clemson end Shaq Lawson who had 25.5. Box score production isn’t the only qualifier to determine the value of an interior defensive lineman but as NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah points out, his technique and awareness leaves a lot to be desired.
“He can beat the guy in front of him, but he really struggles to locate the football. Quarterbacks move in the pocket, he doesn’t have a feel for it. He’ll run right by a ball carrier even though he’s beaten the guy in front of him,” Jeremiah said. “Then just block awareness. You’ll see him just get crushed on angle blocks, which, with his size, strength and ability, (he) should not be getting washed down the line like he does at times.”
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Nkemdiche could still be a first round pick and I have him mocked to a Super Bowl contender with a great defense in my latest mock draft, but he’s certainly not going to be drafted as high as many would have imagined entering his junior season.