Bradley Roby will enter his second season with the Broncos. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
With the NFL draft a day away, multiple reports have surfaced of prospects running into alleged legal problems. Among the most notable so far are Missouri defensive end Shane Ray, who was recently , and Louisiana State tackle La’el Collins, who left the drat to speak with authorities regarding the shooting death of a pregnant woman, believed to be his former girlfriend (Collins is not considered a suspect, .)
Both players have been projected as potential Broncos prospects in the draft. And both could see their stock tumble.
Bradley Roby, the Broncos’ second-year cornerback, knows the situation all too well.
Nearly two and a half weeks before last year’s draft, Roby was cited in Columbus, Ohio, for . According to the police report, officers could smell alcohol in the car and Roby failed a sobriety test.
Roby, who was projected to go in the first round, tried to clear his name, both on social media and through his agent, claiming his blood-alcohol level was 0.008, well below the legal limit in Ohio, and that the incident was portrayed unfairly and inaccurately by media. He later pleaded guilty to having “physical control” of a vehicle while impaired, a reduced charge from “operating a vehicle under the influence,” and was required to pay a fine, participate in a driver intervention program and .
His name fell off the board for some teams, but the Broncos selected him in the first round, at No. 31 overall. He played in all 16 games in his first season (starting two), recording 65 tackles, 1.0 sacks and two interceptions.
On Wednesday, with his pre-draft troubles and first professional season behind him, Roby opened up about the situation, and how he wish he had handled it differently.
“I think it’s something that definitely affected me in the draft, but I think I ended up in the right spot,” Roby said. “I think it happened for a reason for me. I think coach should look into it. At the same time, a lot of guys have a whole bunch of eyes on them. Anything that they do small, it’s going to get blown up. I think that’s what kind of happened to me. It was a small situation that kind of got blown up.
“It was really tough. Going on all the visits and building relationships with GMs and head coaches, I kind of knew what had happened had happened, but I didn’t say anything through advice from certain people. We thought it wasn’t going to blow up to the magnitude that it did. I kind of felt like I lost their trust a little bit. I felt like I should have told them about things like that.”
Roby said he’ll rest a lot easier Wednesday night than he did the night before the 2014 draft, and said he believes he ended up being a steal in the draft for Denver. But looking back, he has some advice for players in similar situations.
“Just stay positive,” he said. “Last year I was debating on whether to even go to the draft. Stay positive. Everything happens for a reason. I can say everything happens for a reason; it proved itself true for me. They have to just learn from their mistakes and learn at this level you have so many eyes on you, so you have to be careful and make great decisions.”
