New York Jets Draft Profile: OLB Jarvis Jones

Mar 21, 2013; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jarvis Jones participates in drills during Georgia pro day at the University of Georgia. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

All right Jet pressers. It’s time to preview a guy that almost every expert has the Jets taking with pick #9, in at least one version of their mock drafts. He showed himself as an absolute beast in college, is freakishly talented coming off the edge, attacking the quarterback. He transferred to the University of Georgia and took everyone by storm. If he is healthy, Rex Ryan would be licking his chops to have this guy in the green and white.

If you don’t recognize him in the picture, the man we are talking about is outside linebacker, Jarvis Jones.

He measures in at 6’2″, 245 pounds.

Due to his well-documented health concerns, Jarvis Jones did not participate in the NFL combine. Instead, we have his Pro Day at Georgia to look at, which did not go as he had planned.  We will talk more about that later.

Here is some video to get you dreaming of sacks:

PROS: The first thing that sticks out is his speed. Jarvis Jones can close like nobody’s business. You had better not blink or you will miss him getting on top of the ball carrier. His speed off the line of scrimmage is intense as well. He gets pressure on the lineman right away by a fast first step. I love that he has the athleticism to defend and intercept passes as well.

CONS: It took a lot to find something here. One thing I noticed, from time to time, when the offense called a running play, the lineman could use Jones’ speed against him. In his haste to get to the backfield, the lineman can keep driving him to the outside, leaving the middle open, which happened once or twice on the tape.

But, what about his pro day? We talked about how Jarvis’ pro day did not go the way he had hoped. He ran only a 4.92 forty yard dash, which would have been second to last at his position at the combine. He also bench pressed only 16 reps, which would have place him 16th. We know the health concerns, but he seems to be cleared there.

Will his pro day affect his stock? It probably will. I just hope it doesn’t affect the Jets opinion because pro day stats can not make that tape go away. I don’t care if he ran the forty in an hour and a half. He can get to the quarterback and that is what the Jets need.