*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
Marcus Peters Unlikely to Be First-Rounder
Updated Nov. 7, 2014By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
The University of Washington announced Thursday that cornerback Marcus Peters was kicked off the team. The 6-foot, 190-pound junior was enjoying a strong season that had him as a potential top 20-pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. After being removed from the team, sources have told us that it looks unlikely that Peters could still go in first round.
Our sources said that a lot can change in the months to come, and if Peters cleans up his act while interviewing well with teams, perhaps a team picking late in the first round could take a chance on him. However, it is more likely that Day 2 is the earliest Peters should hope to go. Other cornerbacks with major off-the-field issues like Janoris Jenkins and Tyrann Mathieu were kicked off their teams before entering the draft and ended up going in the second and third round, respectively. Jenkins’ situation was a little different in that he played his final season at North Alabama after getting kicked out of Florida.
Peters finished his 2014 season with 23 tackles, five passes broken up and three interceptions. He had an excellent game against Stanford with a pick and good coverage on Cardinal receiver Ty Montgomery. Peters had a solid game versus Jaelen Strong and Arizona State as well. Peters covered Strong better than any other defensive back this season.
The Seattle Times was the first to report Peters’ dismissal and stated that Peters had multiple run-ins with the new Huskies coaching staff. He argued with coaches during the game against Colorado and a practice argument on Wednesday was apparently the final straw that pushed Washington to move on from the talented cornerback. Peters was suspended a game earlier in the season after throwing his helmet and gloves from being given a personal foul penalty for head-butting an Eastern Washington wide receiver.
In speaking with NFL evaluators, Peters will have to be accountable and show a change in attitude. Falling to the third day or going undrafted is possible for him.
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