Greg Jones
OLB from Colorado
6-4, 241
40-time: 4.55
Sporting News Reports:
A tweener. Jones was an outside linebacker in Colorado's 3-4
scheme as a sophomore, then moved to end when the
Buffaloes went to a 4-3 as a junior. He still has the
body of a
linebacker but his skills favor end. He's an upfield
pass rusher,
making plays on the offensive side of scrimmage.
Coverage is
foreign to him. But he's athletic enough to learn. In
addition to
his football prowess, he was an all-state basketball
player and
high-school triple-jump champion in Colorado.
USA Today Reports:
Started every game last three seasons and has 27 career sacks. ... Played
stand-up defensive end.
Strengths: Very agile, athletic and fast pass rusher.
Weaknesses: Not a true linebacker. ... Too small for down lineman.
AllSports Reports
Easily enjoyed the best season of his collegiate career.
Second-team All-Big 12. He finished fifth on the team in tackles
with 78, but was second in quarterback sacks with 7.5. He had
12 tackles for losses all told, with the second-most
single-season quarterback hurries in Colorado history with 25.
Superior athletic ability and speed. Might be moved to
linebacker at the next level. Could go higher than teammate and
Butkus Award winner Matt Russell.
Sportsline Reports:
Jones is a fifth-year senior that has started as a right defensive end the
past two years, but like many of the DE/OLB
prospects in this year's draft, scouts feel he is better suited to play
outside linebacker as a pass rush specialist in a 3-4
scheme or down as a DE in a 4-3 in passing situations. Jones started off
the '96 season with a bang, outplaying
Washington State's pro-caliber tackle, Scott Sanderson, in the
season-opener, while also continuing to lead the team in
pressures the remainder of the season. Physically, Jones is similar to the
Patriots' Willie McGinest. Like McGinest, Jones
is very fast, athletic and agile for his size (consistently clocks under
4.60 in the forty), shows very good acceleration and
quickness in pursuit, flashes some good pass-rush skills when blitzing or
rushing from the corner, and has a burst when
closing on the quarterback. He also has long, muscular arms, uses his
hands well when engaged, and can shed on the
move. However, he has a narrow build (weighed just over 200 pounds when he
first came to Colorado in '92), is not
particularly strong or powerful. He also has limited experience as a
full-time LB and may be too long-legged to be fluid
enough for pass coverage.
ESPN Reports
Notes: High-school All-American. Also excelled in track and field.
High-jumped 6-5, long-jumped 22-7 and triple-jumped almost
48
feet. Enrolled at Colorado weighing 198 pounds in 1992 and
lettered with three sacks and four tackles for loss.
Suffered
cartilage and ligament damage to his right knee in August
'93 and
redshirted. Started at outside linebacker in '94 and then
moved to
defensive end for the Fiesta Bowl. Had 67 tackles, 14
tackles for
loss and 61/2 sacks in '94. Starting defensive end in '95
and '96
but did play inside linebacker in one '95 game. Had 62
tackles,
eight sacks and seven other tackles for loss in '95, and 78
tackles,
71/2 sacks and four tackles for loss in '96.
Positives: Quick hands and feet. Very athletic.
Vertical-jumps almost 40 inches.
Broad-jumps over 10 feet. Has excellent times in the
agility runs. Quick off the ball. Runs
well. Has speed and a burst off the corner. Can really
close on the quarterback. Has an
inside counter move. Can get low and small. At times will
show the ability to keep himself
alive. Appears to have the balance and change-of-direction
to play linebacker. Can gather
and come under control. Has the wingspan of a defensive
end.
Negatives: Too thin and narrow for an every-down
defensive
end and is somewhat of a
projection at linebacker. Has thin legs and not much
ballast or anchor. Hot-and-cold player
who has long, quiet stretches when he is not a factor. Ran
a 4.62 at school in the spring but
only in the 4.8's at the combine.
Summary: Best-suited to play in a Carolina/Pittsburgh-type
defense as a pass-rushing
linebacker but could be a situational rusher in a four-man
front and might become a
complete linebacker with time.
Kiper
on AVI / On
Quicktime
Listen to
Atkin's analysis over Real Audio
The Redskins got a good look at second-round pick Jones when Turner's
staff coached the North squad at the Senior
Bowl. They were impressed on two counts.
First, Jones showed he could quickly adapt to outside linebacker from
defensive end, where he played in his senior year
at Colorado. Secondly, Jones came back for the game after leaving practice
in midweek when his wife went into early
labor.
"He showed an awful lot to us to come back for the game," general manager
Charley Casserly said. "And that probably
had as much to do with us being sold on him as anything else."
Jones explained his decision. "I felt, and my wife felt, it was very
important for our future for me to come back (for the
game)," he said. "My wife, she did not want to see me go."
Jones, a solid rusher who needs to work on pass coverage, will debut on
the depth chart behind outside linebacker
Marvus Patton. But the Redskins hope Jones shows enough that Patton can be
moved to the middle, replacing departed
Rod Stephens.