Jones has been on the NFL radar since his Senior season in High School when he was a four star Outside Linebacker Commit to Southern California. Jones, despite his talents on the field, had trouble settling in on the West Coast. He transferred back to Georgia after his Freshman season.
Jarvis Jones is listed at 6’3, 250 pounds on the Georgia Dogs website. I’d guess that’s a fair estimate. Jones gets the most of his height and weight, though. For 250, Jones is surprisingly strong. He can drive larger lineman into the backfield and disengage well.
Jones shows tremendous athleticism and great natural pass rushing skills. Jones has a jab-step move that gets lineman on the heels of their feet as a set up for either an inside move or a bull-rush depending on where they are at in comparison to the pocket. On that note, Jones shows positive awareness when rushing the passer.
I wish that awareness translated to the passing game. In that aspect, he’s disappointing. He doesn’t get a lot of time in coverage, but when he does he shows below average instincts and he doesn’t use his athleticism well.
My biggest gripe with Jones is that he over-pursues a lot. Teams run draws and screens in his direction because he often over runs the play. I’ve seen him do well in those aspects, but more often than not, he runs himself out of the play.
*The scouting report has been put together based on 2011 tape. It will be updated with 2012 information during and after the season.
WHERE HE FITS: As he stands now, Jones is best fit for a 3-4 Base team looking for a pass rushing entity on the edge. Jones has struggled learning coverage thus far, but has the athleticism that would suggest he could develop into a guy that could drop back eventually. If Jones could put on some weight, he could have a future at Defensive End as well. For now, the less he has to drop into coverage, the better.