Shane Ray Cited for Marijuana, Will Affect Draft Stock

Shane Ray saw his draft stock rise with the admission of Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory regarding his marijuana use. It almost became a primary theme around the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine. We were all blown away by the blatant stupidity of Gregory, failing to manage his schedule so his marijuana use didn’t overlap with the combine and it didn’t steal the attention away from his excellent potential.

Shane Ray must not have learned from Gregory.

Everything was going his way so far this offseason. While it would have been shocking to see him taken as the first edge rusher this year, Ray was a top-15 lock and a possible top-10 pick.

Yesterday that may have changed.

At 6:07am on April 27th, he was pulled over and cited for having less than 35 grams of marijuana on him and failing to drive in the right lane. For the SEC Defensive Player of the Year with nothing but potential written all over him, this is a major blow.

I fully expect this to hurt his draft stock. I’m high on Ray and think he has bigger potential than people give him credit for. He was a steady presence at Missouri (though he had some really good player above him for a bit) and his collegiate production in a major conference is a good indicator that he can succeed at the NFL level. Seeing Gregory fall down mock drafts, however, has me worried that teams may see this as a bigger issue and Ray may not have as much potential as they anticipated.

Not having participated in the NFL Combine because of a foot injury and with lackluster Pro Day results and now the citation, he may see himself slide on draft day. It would be a shame because I see him as a dependable pass rusher for whichever team picks him up. If both he and Gregory slide down in the draft then some mid to late first round teams could come away with steals as their potential can’t be ignored.

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