Christian Ballard: Difference between revisions

'''Christian Ballard''' (born January 3, 1989) is a former [[American football]] [[defensive tackle]]. He was selected by the [[Minnesota Vikings]] in the fourth round (106th overall) of the [[2011 NFL Draftdraft]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2011/draft.htm |title=2011 NFL Draft Listing |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en |access-date=2019-02-26}}</ref> He played [[college football]] at [[Iowa Hawkeyes football|Iowa]].

At the 2011 [[NFL Scouting Combine]] Ballard, who had received a first round grade from NFL Draft pundit [[Mel Kiper Jr.]], graded out as one of the most athletic defensive lineman at that year's combine. However, soon after, it was reported that he and another player, [[Justin Houston]] of the University of Georgia, had tested positive for [[marijuana]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-draft-prospects-justin-houston-christian-ballard-failed-combine-drug-test-042611 |title=Sources: NFL prospects failed drug tests |website=FoxSports.com |date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/26/report-justin-houston-christian-ballard-failed-drug-test-at-combine/ |title=Report: Justin Houston, Christian Ballard failed drug test at Combine |last=Rosenthal |first=Greg |website=ProFootballTalk.NBCSpots.com |date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=February 25, 2017}}</ref> This caused some teams to red-flag him with the much-feared "character flaw" label. It is said that this is the reason he slipped to the fourth round of the [[2011 NFL Draftdraft]] despite performing very well at the Combine and receiving such high marks from draft analysts such as Kiper and [[Todd McShay]].