Michigan defensive back Jabrill Peppers was one of the toughest draft prospects to figure out, and that was before Monday’s news that he tested positive at the NFL scouting combine.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Peppers tested positive for a diluted sample at the combine. He’s the second big-name prospect in this year’s draft to test positive for a diluted sample; Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster also tested positive.
A diluted sample counts as a positive test for the NFL. Peppers’ agents at CAA told Schefter that Peppers drank a lot of water because he was sick at the combine, which caused the failed test. Here’s the CAA statement Schefter posted:
“Peppers went to the combine. He was sick after flying there from San Diego. He has a history of cramping. Peppers was being pumped with fluids, drinking 8-10 bottles of water before he went to bed, because he was the first guy to work out two days for the LBs and DBs. He had to go through that first day, come back on second day, and that was the fear. So Peppers was pounding water and under the weather. He never failed a drug test in his life, nor tested positive before for any substance.”
Teams will have to figure out if or how much the Peppers news affects their evaluation of him as a prospect, and that evaluation was difficult to begin with. Peppers was one of the biggest names in college football last season, as the Wolverines used him at safety, linebacker and running back among other positions. His versatility was a plus in college, and will help in the NFL, but teams have to figure out what his best position is in the pros.
Peppers was considered a late first-round prospect by many draft prognosticators. Maybe teams won’t be worried about Peppers’ failed test because he has a plausible excuse and he had no known character concerns throughout his college career. But it’s another layer to evaluate for one of the draft’s most intriguing prospects.
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