Randy Gregory is going to drop in the draft, but not for the reasons one might think.

The Nebraska pass rusher revealed to NFL Media’s Kim Jones that he failed a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine, testing positive for marijuana. That Gregory got ahead of the story is both shrewd and shows maturity, but that may not matter.

It’s not the what that will be held against Gregory but the when.

Although the NFL offices may still experience the occasional bouts of “Reefer Madness,” the teams themselves rarely care about marijuana use here or there. As long as a player doesn’t let it interfere with his play or get suspended because of it, the league is more than willing to put up with a little recreational activities—less of an endorsement, but more of a don’t ask/don’t tell situation.

Everyone knows it’s happening, but don’t care unless someone finds out.

This mirrors, in many ways, general attitudes about marijuana use throughout the country, where decriminalization and legalization efforts have been successful in various states and cities with more almost sure to come. Though the NFL is still testing for it, they’ve recently changed their recreational drug use policy to raise the limit triggering a positive test.

Moreover, there’s a general sentiment of “boys will be boys” when it comes to drug use in regards to draft prospects. Every evaluator is different, and decision makers across the league have differing views about where certain lines should be drawn, but in general, drug use in college doesn’t preclude a player from being drafted since it’s assumed there wouldn’t be enough players to hold a draft if it did.

Gregory made the one mistake you’re not supposed to make, though…he failed at the combine.

The combine drug test is not any old clear plastic cup. That drug test represents the biggest job interview of Gregory’s young life. As much as a prospect needs to practice the 40-yard dash, and polish up his interview skills, he also needs to do everything in his power to pass both medical and drug tests with flying colors.

Gregory didn’t, and that’s a problem.

See: In the NFL’s mind, it’s not drug use that’s a problem (at least, not a major one), but it’s the lack of seriousness about football. Football should be A-No. 1 on every single draft prospects to do list. If not, the NFL teams won’t want to invest their money in someone who might not give 110 percent on every given Sunday.

This is, essentially, the same sort of thing that pops up when dealing with two sport athletes that don’t give up baseball fast enough, or even “brainiacs” whom the league has often deemed “too smart” to play the game.

Yes, that’s right, the NFL essentially treats recreational drug use a lot like being a straight-A student.

It also means that we wouldn’t even be talking about this had Gregory failed this drug test a year ago or a year from now. Those are gnats compared to the much bigger animal a failed combine drug test becomes.

Then again, it doesn’t matter how serious a player is about football if a guy can play, and that’s why even the timing of Gregory’s failed drug test may not matter like it could.

Understand that if we were talking about a potential low-round prospect failing this test, we’d be calling him undraftable at this point. For someone with the skills of Gregory, though, the team that takes him off their board completely doesn’t have any business in the player acquisition game, because the context of what Gregory can do on the field is enough of a reward to outweigh the risk of his failed drug test.

Just as his admission came out in the media, so did his workout numbers from the Nebraska pro day. He weighed in at 243 pounds, bench pressed 26 reps at 250 pounds and ran a 40 in the low 4.5s. Combine those with his tape and scouts should be salivating, not poo-pooing the purity of his urine samples.

If we’re talking about context, we have to talk about the context of Kansas City outside linebacker Justin Houston, who may be the best defender in the NFL not named Watt or Suh, yet fell in the draft because of a failed combine drug test. Think dozens of NFL teams (or, roughly 31) aren’t kicking themselves for passing on a player they knew was a stud?

Yes, this is a stacked class of pass rushers—Missouri’s Shane Ray, Florida’s Dante Fowler Jr., Clemson’s Vic Beasley—but there isn’t a team in the NFL that doesn’t have a team need for another player who can rush the passer, especially one as naturally talented as Gregory.

Will Gregory fall? Yes, absolutely.

Will he fall far?

Not unless the NFL wants to regret it.