Georgia outside linebacker Jarvis Jones was at one point considered the best defensive player in the draft. That stock has fallen a bit, but not because of Jones production. During the 2009 season when Jones was playing for USC he suffered a neck injury. He was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and was not cleared to play by his doctors at USC.
Those doctors told him to retire from football, but Jones refused. He chose to transfer to Georgia and he was cleared to return to the field. After joining the Bulldogs he became one of the most dominant pass rushers in the country. Last season he led the nation with 14.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss and was one of the most disruptive defenders in football.
However, red flags about Jones’ health continue to come up and although he is a definitive first round talent his past may cause him to fall farther than expected. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk reported today that multiple teams are shying away from Jones especially in the first round of the drat. “Per a league source, Jones’ neck has prompted multiple teams to shy away from considering him, especially in round one,” Florio wrote this morning.
With the Steelers expected to consider an outside linebacker with their first pick the question then becomes: are the Steelers one of those teams?
WalterFootball.com is one of the top mock draft sites online. Through their last few updates they have had the Steelers drafting Jones with the seventeenth overall pick. He believes that the Steelers organization is too smart to pass up on such a good talent.
Each year a player once considered a top five pick falls and finds themselves being picked in the late first or second round. It happened to Da’quan Bowers and last year it happened to Courtney Upshaw. This year that same fate may fall on Jones if teams are truly worried about his long-term health.
Every prospect in the NFL draft has issues and red flags, but the question is whether or not the risk is worth the reward. Jones could become the next dominant pass rusher in the NFL and if he is sitting there when the Steelers make their first selection they will have a tough decision to make.
