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I'm not sure Jones is going to be much of a NFL pass rusher either. I know he made a lot of sacks in college, which is even more amazing since he didn't rush the QB on every down, they asked him to drop and play inside some. So he is incredibly productive in terms of his sacks.
My knock on him is that he is like Mingo as a rusher. He runs around OT or just waits until he squirms lose from the OT, then just chases the QB down. He doesn't do a good job of shedding college OL when they block him, and he doesn't really have any inside or counter moves as a pass rusher.
Jones has been used as a classic, read and react type of LB at Georgia and he at least made a lot of plays in pursuit. Forced fumbles, int, deflected passes. I would be willing to gamble with him as a pass rushing LB, because even if he is a bust in that respect, you can use him as a ILB or a coverage LB and he still has the potential to make a lot of plays for you. In fact, watching him, I think he was the best true LB in all of college last year, although it is hard to compare him to Teo, since Jones is not the same sort of downhill, inside run stuffer. But play him as a WILB in the 34 or a 43 Will OLB where he can chase down ball carriers and strip the ball, and I think he could still be excellent.
Mingo has never been used except as a 43 DE, and doesn't even seem to find the ball well as a DL, let alone when he has a chance to see what is happening around him. He can run plays down, but he didn't appear to find the ball that well to me. He always looked like he was playing for the big sack, even if the other team wasn't in obvious passing situations. That and his production is disappointing. You want to see a guy get a lot of sacks, but LSU basically plays the entire season (except against Alabama) with a lead, so he had even more obvious pass rush chances then most DE. And unlike many premiere rush guys, he wasn't going against LT, he played LDE in the LSU D, so he went against the (generally) less capable RT. So he should have had lots of chances to pad his sack stats, yet didn't. He may still be a premiere player in the NFL. Guys do develop and Mingo has the tools. But do you use a top 10 pick on that big a project? Just seems a little high risk to me. Not against projects, just do it a little later.
But a couple of scouts gave quotes before the draft this year and pointed out, there have been all these SEC DL and OLB types coming into the NFL the last few years, how many of them have produced?
My knock on him is that he is like Mingo as a rusher. He runs around OT or just waits until he squirms lose from the OT, then just chases the QB down. He doesn't do a good job of shedding college OL when they block him, and he doesn't really have any inside or counter moves as a pass rusher.
Jones has been used as a classic, read and react type of LB at Georgia and he at least made a lot of plays in pursuit. Forced fumbles, int, deflected passes. I would be willing to gamble with him as a pass rushing LB, because even if he is a bust in that respect, you can use him as a ILB or a coverage LB and he still has the potential to make a lot of plays for you. In fact, watching him, I think he was the best true LB in all of college last year, although it is hard to compare him to Teo, since Jones is not the same sort of downhill, inside run stuffer. But play him as a WILB in the 34 or a 43 Will OLB where he can chase down ball carriers and strip the ball, and I think he could still be excellent.
Mingo has never been used except as a 43 DE, and doesn't even seem to find the ball well as a DL, let alone when he has a chance to see what is happening around him. He can run plays down, but he didn't appear to find the ball that well to me. He always looked like he was playing for the big sack, even if the other team wasn't in obvious passing situations. That and his production is disappointing. You want to see a guy get a lot of sacks, but LSU basically plays the entire season (except against Alabama) with a lead, so he had even more obvious pass rush chances then most DE. And unlike many premiere rush guys, he wasn't going against LT, he played LDE in the LSU D, so he went against the (generally) less capable RT. So he should have had lots of chances to pad his sack stats, yet didn't. He may still be a premiere player in the NFL. Guys do develop and Mingo has the tools. But do you use a top 10 pick on that big a project? Just seems a little high risk to me. Not against projects, just do it a little later.
But a couple of scouts gave quotes before the draft this year and pointed out, there have been all these SEC DL and OLB types coming into the NFL the last few years, how many of them have produced?
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