Say what you want about Randy Gregory and his past struggles, but he might just be turning into the player the Dallas Cowboys envisioned when they drafted him in the second-round of the 2015 NFL Draft. All I can say is, it’s about time!
Randy Gregory is just one of many players Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones has gone out of his way to help in the hopes of improving his football team, but very few have received as much patience and personal attention as Gregory. Jerry has continued to stand by him through all of his off the field issues and suspensions, despite not getting much in return.
It’s been somewhat confusing for a lot of Cowboys Nation. Many fans have been ready to move on from the troubled defensive end, but not Jerry Jones. This was his pick back in 2015 and he was bound and determined to see it through. That’s exactly what he’s done and he might actually see some return on his investment.
Randy Gregory isn’t exactly blowing things up like Linebacker Leighton Vander Ecsh or some of his other defensive teammates, but he’s quietly strung together some good games these past several weeks. In the last four games he has three quarterback sacks, three quarterback hits, and a tackle for a loss. That’s not even mentioning how he’s consistently applying pressure to the QB as well.
I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside looking in, but to me he’s starting to look like a player who’s finally finding his groove. I don’t know about you, but I will take any silver lining I can get when it comes to Randy Gregory. Even if it is the small sample size.
We all knew it might take him a while to get things going after missing all 2017 and parts of 2016 due to suspensions. That’s a lot of football to miss for a young player and it’s kind of hurt his development. That’s probably one of the reasons the Cowboys brought him along a little slowly this season.
I don’t think there’s any reason to pull back the reins any longer though. Gregory looks as if he has acclimated to the game once again and is ready, willing, and able to start opposite DeMarcus Lawrence from here on out. The Cowboys defense is just better with him in the lineup.
Randy Gregory has had to overcome a lot of personal demons to reach this point in his career, and for that I commend him. It couldn’t have been an easy road to go down, but the work he has put in is paying off and he can finally see the fruits of his labor for himself. That could pay huge dividends not only from a confidence standpoint, but also as a sense of validation.
Now, he just needs to keep his nose to the grind stone and continue to do what he’s been doing. I think everything else will work itself out and both he and the Cowboys will be better for it.
