Ole Miss DL Robert Nkemdiche to visit Broncos

Robert Nkemdiche to Broncos? The troubled player will take an official visit to Dove Valley as part of the pre-draft process.

We’re at the height of the pre-draft season. The all-star games have long since concluded and with the underwear Olympics (the Scouting Combine) past us, NFL teams can take the next step in their player evaluations. Part of that next step is to bring in players to their team facilities for a closer look at the prospect.  The physical aspect of the evaluation should give way to the mental aspect of this process moving forward. Part of that process is determining whether a player has character or health concerns that could diminish their NFL chances.

One player that the Broncos will take a closer look at is the talented, but troubled DL from Ole Miss, Robert Nkemdiche.  Although Nkemdiche didn’t light up the stat sheet (only 7 sacks in his college career), his impact was clear when you watch the film.  His strongest NFL comparison is Seattle Seahawks DL Michael Bennett. Like Bennett, Nkemdiche was able to play any position across the Defensive Line and was a constant terror in the backfield, applying pressure from every position.  The video below is a great example of the pure power that Nkemdiche has when rushing from the inside.

The 6’3, 294 lb lineman is a great athlete with a ton of natural talent, but he has a few red flags.  Nkemdiche was arrested for possession of marijuana after falling out of a hotel room hours before the team played their Bowl game against Oklahoma State.  It’s one thing to be arrested for such a charge, but to have such a mishap like falling out of a hotel window on top of that is just odd.  Nkemdiche has since taken full responsibility for the incident and made it clear that the incident is not an indictment on his behavior. Regardless of what the truth is, the Broncos are definitely intrigued with his skill set and would like a closer look.

The one thing going for Nkemdiche with his prospects for joining the Broncos is that Elway and Co. have taken chances on players with off-field concerns before. As a matter of fact, their last two first round picks had either serious character concerns or incidents during their pre-draft process (Ray and Roby).  One thing is clear, the Broncos like the talent that Nkemdiche possesses and will take a closer look at him when he visits Dove Valley in the coming days.