You guys put much stock in this report? http://walterfootball.com/nfldraftrumormill.php#jarvisjonesfall

 

I never expected Jarvis to be a good tester at the Combine. And I think I've even heard before that he's not a big time work ethic guy.

But the reason I expect him to fall is the stenosis. The reason it scares me more with him than it would other players is because as a linebacker he is constantly colliding with players on the field. There's a lot of potential for trauma. It's the most trauma-heavy position in the sport aside from maybe tailback.

 

Outstanding Dave Winfield mention.

 

One guy I've had my eye on that you'll see in the topmost video is Xavier Nixon of Florida.

He absolutely STONE Damontre Moore, and if you watch him in that video, he did a great job on Jarvis Jones. Jones only got the better of him one time in the whole video, IMO. Another time Jones got Nixon on the outside but Nixon recovered in time to pound him into the dirt behind the QB who should be stepping up into the pocket anyway. And another time Jones got to Driskell while Nixon was blocking him but it was a coverage/scrambling sack. Nixon's trying to defend the pocket and Drisekll broke out of it, so Jones was able to take a new angle to him. Not really Nixon's fault.

The negative on Nixon is physically he's a wad of cookie dough. He needs to develop a work ethic and I've heard he struggles with weight. He reminds of Jeff Otah both in the good and bad ways.

 

Do you think he's under-the-radar like Marcus Gilbert was?

 

Possibly.

I made a mistake. His weight issues are not him having too much weight, it's him not having enough weight. He arrived a 260 lbs guy and has struggled to put on "good" weight since getting there. That's why he looks soft and flabby.

 

I think Miami is a potential good landing spot for Jones, but they'd have to alter the defense. The formations and packages are there, but the tendencies are not, and I think it's hard to say how willing they would be to change that.

If they're willing to do that, they already do a bunch of strong shifted defenses. Jones would be in a position where he could play basically like a 3-4 weak side backer. He wouldn't have to deal with the tight end as often because Wake's left side position, and he'd line up next to a psuedo 3-4 end in Odrick. They also use a bunch of 3-3 Nickel packages where a lot of their current guys like Vernon wouldn't be badly displaced at a tighter end position.

 

I kept mentioning the stenosis a long time ago when I first notice how damn good Jones was. Someone kept saying it wouldn't be a big deal and he would be fine, but the closer to draft time we get the more nervous I am getting about him. The thing is if it effects his career he will undoubtedly be a bust, however if it doesn't effect his career he could easily go on to be one of the best players to come out in this draft.

I think it is going to come down to each individual teams Doctors evaluations of his back, I expect some teams will take him off their radar, while others will only knock him down a couple spots in their ratings due to his condition.

 

That would be me. The doctors gave Jarvis a clean bill of health.

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Possibly. That would be the danger. But some guys have trouble putting "good" weight on their frames, and if they've got a mandate that they NEED to be a certain weight the only choice left to them is just to keep eating until they get there.

 

Which doctors? Not the USC doctors, who told him he should quit football and refused to clear him to play.

 

Evidently even that may not matter as much because the opinions on stenosis in football are so split, within the medical community. Or so I'm told. The teams are likely to see what they're expecting to see, but the interpretations are going to vary from team to team.

He may not fall as much as I thought. When half the teams think you're a top 10 pick and the other half the teams think you're a 2nd rounder, the yay's tend to have it.

 

Could be, but he could also drop Da'Quan Bowers style into the late 1st/2nd rd, you never know- he had a concerning knee issue iirc. The stenosis is concerning, as are the work ethic issues. He's looks a little lackadaisical out on the field- heck of a pass rusher, but it wouldn't shock me if his teammate Ogletree gets taken ahead of him, sans stenosis and also maybe more of a dynamic player. I wouldn't be comfortable with Jones at DE and I'd rather have Ogletree at OLB. Good flexibility as well, he could obviously play MLB, too.

 

I know one group was the UGA medical staff, but I didn't get to see everything. All I know is that he was cleared by the medical staff and the belief was that he wasn't likely going to hurt himself again. I was told that USC's staff refusing to clear him was just them being too overtly cautious. As you yourself said later that the medical field is split, so in the end none of it may matter. I just wanted to let people know what I had heard/been told.

 

I was merely pointing out the exact split in opinion you're talking about. When you make a general blanket statement like "the doctors cleared him" it gives the impression that there aren't dissenting opinions. There are. The USC staff refused to clear him and recommended he quit football. The Georgia staff said come ohhn back to Geahgia and drank some sweet tea, we'll play ye.

 

I think if we took Jones, it would be with the idea of using him as a situational pass rusher only, at least at first. Aldon Smith never started as a rookie, but just came in to rush the passer in the nickel, same as Bruce Irvin. I think teams are more so looking for those types of situational players early in the draft.

 

That is my fault, and I apologize. I was just trying to be careful with the information I shared. I didn't want to say anything that might reveal too much and cause any problems. I figured vague would be better.

 

If he comes close to Aldon Smith's rookie year he would. 441 pass rush snaps, 17 sacks, 17 hits, and 43 QB hurries, all while never starting a single game. Even a year similar to Bruce Irvin's would be enough. 392 pass rush snaps, 11 sacks, 12 hits and 24 hurries. He did start one game, the divisional playoff game, because Chris Clemons was out.