Potential Eagles Target Accused of Sexual Assault

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - The meteoric rise of cornerback Gareon Conley in the 2017 NFL Draft process hit a significant pothole on Tuesday morning when news leaked out of Cleveland that a potential first-round pick was being accused of sexual assault at an area hotel.

The whispers started almost immediately and Conley was revealed as the accused in a police report first obtained by TMZ.com.

A 23-year-old woman is claiming that Conley, the former Ohio State star who started draft season as a likely second-round pick and stood on the eve of the draft as a potential top-10 selection, violated her in a Westin hotel suite bathroom on April 9, less than three weeks before Thursday's first round.

Conley, who 973espn.com projected to the Eagles at No. 14 overall, has denied the allegations.

According to TMZ, the accuser alleges she met Conley in a hotel elevator around 3 AM and things moved quickly from there with Conley inviting her back to his hotel room. From there the woman claims Conley requested she engage in group sex with a friend and a second woman while the accuser countered with an offer to watch the other couple have sex before she claimed she was raped.

The tawdry nature of the details won't make prosecution easy for Cleveland prosecutors but the timing here is obviously not good for Conley.

Conley's running mate at Ohio State Marshon Lattimore, also a potential top-10 pick, Tweeted when the story broke and defended his friend.

"So the first thing you say to a girl that you meet in the elevator is let's have a foursome? Lol that doesn't even make sense."

Conley then responded with a "Lord knows!"

An NFL source told 973espn.com earlier this week that Conley was one of four players the Eagles were considering at No. 14 overall, in a group with Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, Washington receiver John Ross and Missouri edge rusher Charles Harris.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen