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Breaking down the many factors impacting Jabrill Peppers' draft stock

Joe Maiorana / USA TODAY Sports

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns, and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of the podcast "Football Today."

On Monday afternoon, it was reported that Jabrill Peppers failed a drug test at the combine because the sample he provided was diluted. Peppers has said that he was ill at the time of the test and was drinking water at a very high rate to help his health and to avoid cramping when working out for NFL evaluators.

While that might be true, and he certainly could deserve the benefit of the doubt in that situation, it's a red flag nonetheless for a prospect that there are many varied opinions on. It also must be noted that Peppers has been considered a very high character prospect with leadership traits throughout this draft process thus far.

But what about Peppers simply as a player and draft prospect? Peppers received a lot of notoriety at a big program and has some electric traits. He is extremely athletic and fantastic with the ball in his hands. Peppers is an excellent return man and some have even speculated that he could be best used on offense as a ball carrier. He should have immediate special teams value in all phases. He certainly is an enticing blitzer when aligned near the line of scrimmage as well.

Because Michigan was much stronger in the secondary (where they should have three players drafted this year) than at linebacker, Peppers aligned on the second level a high percentage of the time. He is a thickly built player and some see him as the next Deone Bucannon or Mark Barron. However, Peppers doesn’t show the physical edge or ability to take on blocks that those two have consistently displayed. He is more of a run-around player and in the NFL that could easily find him getting washed out on running plays.

While he is very athletic and moves well in all directions, Peppers is also very unproven as a cover man. He appears tentative the further away from the ball he is aligned and has little experience doing so. Peppers certainly has speed and range, but his coverage skills - in either zone or man coverage - need an awful lot of work. Many of his big plays against the run came when Peppers was unblocked.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Evaluators that like Peppers describe him as "versatile and explosive." Those that are not as fond of him see him as a "player without a position." While it's certainly true that the NFL is less concerned now with pigeon-holing players into one distinct position, what meeting room does Peppers go to? On game day, coaches want a very clear role for their players or they can’t put them on the field.

Peppers doesn't appear to be anything close to a Deion Jones as a linebacker or as a Bucannon or Barron as a convert. He isn’t the enforcer like a Kam Chancellor and doesn’t appear to be close to ready to play man coverage against NFL tight ends. Maybe he can develop into a nickel cornerback. He was recruited as a cornerback coming out of high school.

Can he eventually turn into a quality and rangy playmaker on the backend either in two high safety looks or as a single high player? Perhaps. But learning to read plays, the angles to take, and how to break on the ball, among many other deep safety skills, do not occur overnight and his angles to the ball are already suspect. And when you screw these things up as the last layer of defense, it costs your team big time.

So as you can see, there were a lot of questions about Peppers before the failed drug test. Surely there are many coaches out there that just want to get their hands on this player and his upside is undeniable. But Peppers looks much more like a middle-of-round-two gamble than a first-round player.

Could he eventually be a bigger version of Tyrann Mathieu? You don’t have to squint too hard to see that taking place. Going to a team with a creative defensive coordinator with a plan in place is a must for Peppers. There is no question that Peppers is a difficult evaluation any way you cut it. He should be a second-round pick.

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