INDIANAPOLIS — Mississippi defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche probably won’t get any points for his honesty from NFL teams after an astounding press conference Friday.
Nkemdiche is a first-round talent, but could come off draft boards entirely after telling reporters he fell out of a fourth-floor Atlanta hotel room in December because he was drunk and admitted he can be a “lazy” player.
Nkemdiche wasn’t done, either, stunning the assembled media by casually placing teammate Laremy Tunsil — an offensive tackle being projected by some as the No. 1 overall pick — in that same hotel room where he admitted drugs were present.
Nkemdiche denied he was using drugs the night he fell out of the room, only drinking alcohol, even though Atlanta police cited him for drug possession. Nkemdiche claimed he was cited for drugs only because the room was under his name and no “fall guy” was willing to step up.
“Nobody wanted to take the fall,” Nkemdiche said. “It had to go under my name. It just happened to play out like that.”
The fact Tunsil was in the room was not commonly known in draft circles, and Nkemdiche’s revelation could cost Tunsil millions. It also might raise yet another red flag about Nkemdiche for so easily throwing a teammate under the bus.
“I told them the truth,” Nkemdiche said of NFL teams inquiring about the incident, including his exit through the window that left him hospitalized. “It was a rash decision by me. Uncharacteristic and not who I am. That’s not what I stand for, that’s not what my family stands for.”
Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch, one of the top passing prospects in the draft, said several teams appeared to be “spooked” by an issue with the AC joint in his throwing shoulder that turned up in his medical exam Friday.
“It’s not an issue, though,” Lynch insisted.
Baylor all-conference basketball forward Rico Gathers plans to apply for the NFL draft, telling ESPN he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Antonio Gates and other college hoop stars that made the transition to tight end in pro football.