College: Florida State
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 232 Pounds
Positives
Athleticism: The fact that Jones is as fast and athletic as he is while measuring in at 6'4" 230 pounds is down right freaky. Jones is explosive when tracking down the ball carrier as he moves sideline to sideline effortlessly. With quickness, agility, and speed Jones is a pure athlete in every sense of the word. So light on his feet he was lined up on slot receivers (shut down Sammy Watkins) and tight ends through out his career and blanketed them with ease. His athletic ability gives him tremendous tackling range and is why he is always around the ball.
Range: With explosive speed and quick feet, Jones' range is second to none. Jones always has his feet moving which allows him to change directions quickly and stay fluid in space. With his great pursuit and closing speed, once he has you in his sights it's usually game over. He is big enough and fast enough to cover slot receivers, tight ends, and running backs out of the flats in zone situations.
Block Shedding/Technique: Unlike most of the fast athletic linebackers, when taking on blocks Jones will run through the block instead of trying to run around it. The same can be said when attacking the line of scrimmage; Jones prefers to fight through the traffic as opposed to wiggling around it. Not always great with his hands, but quickly disengages with his blockers and gets back up to full speed (hence his great range). Overall Jones knows when to use his speed and when to use his strength, staying aggressive and physical when taking on his blockers.
Negatives
Instincts: The athleticism is there for jones but the instincts don't match. An over aggressiveness has burned him in the play-action department more times than you'd like along with an unnaturalness in pass coverage despite the physical attributes. His "read and react" skills are there, however they need to be further developed with good coaching at the next level.
Pass Rushing: This may seem odd as Jones was moved to defensive end mid way through the season to help add some spunk to a lack of pass rush. The fact is, Jones won't be drafted as defensive end and when he was stood up at linebacker there was plenty to be desired when it came to his blitz game. Jones relies far too much on his physicalness to beat his man around the edge, showing very little pass rush moves that strike fear in opposing offensive lineman.
Jones does have the potential to turn into a threat as a blitzer showing great anticipation off the snap of the ball. His problem however, is the fact he was asked to drop back in coverage and stop the run causing his pass rush to be underdeveloped.
Pass Coverage: The potential is there physically for Jones showing the size to blanket tight ends and the speed to run with slot receivers, but his natural instincts at this point are too inconsistent to be relied on at the next level. Ability is much higher in zone coverage than man-to-man at this point.
NFL Player Comparisons
Tampa Bay Bucaneers' Lavonte David comes to mind when breaking down Jones. A fast and athletic linebacker who would maximize his skill set in a 4-3 scheme as a weak-side linebacker. Both David and Jones are quick and strong showing the range to get sideline-to-sideline and fight through traffic and blockers rather than around it.
Draft Outlook
All the potential and raw ability that you would like to see is there from Jones, but using a day one pick on him would be risky given his lack of instincts and inconsistencies with his pass rush. If I were a GM, (someday...stares off into space) my first pick needs to be a guy I know will be a lock and Jones as of now is not. With proper coaching he could be one of the best linebackers of the group when its all said and done but he is far away from that at this point. Combing the rumor mill, Jones is being labeled anywhere from a fringe first rounder to a third round pick. No doubt Jones will boost his draft stock at the combine when he shows off his lighting and thunder attributes which may ultimately sneak him into day one, but at the end of the day he most likely will be snatched up early in day two for a linebacker hungry 4-3 team much like Lavonte David was (58th pick overall).
Best Fits
Although he has played with his hand in the ground as a defensive end and as a middle linebacker, Jones is best suited to line up as an outside linebacker for a team running a 4-3 defense. Given his speed and range from sideline-to-sideline he could play the weak-side linebacker role. However, with Jones showing glimpses of shutting down tight ends and slot receivers, a team could fall in love with his ability in the pass game and plug him in as a strong side linebacker. Teams running a 4-3 in need of outside linebacker help are the Bears, Vikings, Lions, Rams, Broncos, Giants, and Bengals.
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