Mattjones4firstround?

[stevew]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...eetings/1.html

STAT OF THE WEEK

Matt Jones is projected by many to be a wide receiver or tight end in the NFL.
I must say that if I heard it once, I heard it 10 times at the league meetings last week: How high is Matt Jones going to be drafted? And what position will he play in the NFL?

I believe Jones, the quarterback from Arkansas who might be a wide receiver or tight end in the NFL, is the most intriguing prospect in recent draft history. Check out these numbers from the Master Report at the Scouting Combine:

Height: 6-foot-6 1/4.

Weight: 242.

40-yard dash times: 4.38, 4.37.

Vertical jump: 39 1/2 inches.

Faster than Braylon Edwards. Jumps higher than Mike Williams. Taller than any tight end.

Some teams think Jones could go as high as the last third of the first round. And some of the teams in that area of the first round -- St. Louis (19th), Denver (25th) and Pittsburgh (30th) -- have coaches with the guts to take chances on interesting prospects. I remember how much Mike Martz of the Rams wanted Antwaan Randle-El in the 2002 draft before the Steelers beat him to it and took Randle-El in the second round. And you know how excited Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher gets about versatile players (Randle-El, Kordell Stewart, Hines Ward) with college quarterback experience.

I am not denigrating Jones, because I agree with the masses who think he's going to be a heck of pro player, somewhere. But I have one name to give you to put this workout wonder in perspective: Mike Mamula. In 1995 the Boston College pass rusher had the greatest combine of all time, and he flew all the way up to the seventh pick in the first round even though he was an undersized guy. He ended up getting pushed around during his brief NFL career.

Sounds like the Rams' second-round pick is a wiser risk, not the first.

Saw this on another board. I have no prob with the Steelers taking him at 30, if they like him. He likely wont be there at 62.

[Cringer]

I know I would love to see him on the Packer's. Not for a first round pick, but thats just because the Packers have bigger needs.

I would not blme team for taking a shot on him in the late parts of the first round.

[JeeberD]

Why bring up Mamula? He said that Mamula was undersized, a problem that MJ obviously doesn't have...

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Why bring up Mamula? He said that Mamula was undersized, a problem that MJ obviously doesn't have...

That is what I was thinking. Different position, has nothing to do with Matt Jones.

[Franklinnoble]

This kid could be the next Eric Crouch.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Why bring up Mamula? He said that Mamula was undersized, a problem that MJ obviously doesn't have...

Mamula is the poster-child for a "workout" warrior type who had a modestly successful college playing career, but whose draft stock wen through the roof because of off-the-charts combine numbers, but fizzled out in the pros... So, he's brought up whenever someone's draft stock raises based pretty much on combine numbers alone.

I agree. I think the Mamula comparison is pretty weak here, but I guess King is just warning folks that great combine numbers like MattJones' do not always equal success in the NFL. I imagine MattJones' draft stock as a WR/TE or whatever was significantly lower (given that he played QB in college) prior to his combine, but has since sky-rocketed post-combine. There's the comparison.

[Suicane75]

I wouldn't mind having him on the Eagles. He could even drive Freddie Mitchel to the airport on his first day in camp.

[sovereignstar]

If I was a girl, I couldn't imagine a better..wait. I bet I couldn't imagine a better mate.

[MJ4H]

Matt Jones is an outstanding athlete who does not know how to carry a football.

[tanglewood]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

This kid could be the next Eric Crouch.

The premier NFL Europe safety?