The Sports Xchange

Second-round pick Randy Gregory said Tuesday the Dallas Cowboys did not draft a player with a “weed problem.”

Gregory, the 60th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, failed a drug test at the Scouting Combine in February. The Nebraska pass rusher weighed only 235 pounds, extremely light for a defensive end, and several teams had questions about his position fit and his decision making.

NFLDraftScout.com ranked Gregory one of the top 15 players in the draft.

“I think a lot of people are getting tied up in the weed and think it’s just a weed problem. I don’t think it’s a weed problem,” Gregory said in an ESPN Radio interview. “I think it’s decision making. I think I’m immature. I’m definitely working on that.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who infamously passed on Randy Moss in the first round and vowed not to make the same mistakes after Moss went on to stardom, said he had a sitdown with Gregory during a personal visit to Valley Ranch to work through the potential decision of whether to invest in the talented pass rusher. Gregory fills a position of need for the Cowboys, who also signed troubled Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy in free agency. Hardy was suspended the first 10 games of the 2015 season for a domestic violence incident reviewed by the NFL.

“I know I made a mistake,” Gregory said. “I know there is only so much I can say. Talk is cheap sometimes. I really want to show these guys what I can do and I am really serious about what I say. I gave that staff my word plenty of times and I really feel like they believe me.”

Jones has taken several risks since passing on Moss. Wide receiver Dez Bryant fell to the bottom third of the first round because of off-field issues. The Cowboys have invested heavily in Bryant’s success off the field, though not without some missteps.

Even when players backpedal at the NFL level, Jones has been forgiving. Defensive tackles Tank Johnson (weapons charges) and Josh Brent (vehicular intoxication manslaughter) are testimonies to that.

The Cowboys, Jones said, are sold that Gregory loves football and wants to be great. Whether he understands what that means in the wake of the admission he feels like he’s not mature enough is questionable.

“This isn’t a cookie-cutter thing in any way with any individual,” Jones said.