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The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of trading down and trying to grab a first round pick at DE, TE, or CB and Matt Jones. I'm convinced Jones is bound for stardom and say Heath Miller and Jones, or Fabian Washington and Jones, or Pollock and Jones or Other and Jones will be better than anybody we can conceivably nab at 9. Think about it. A six foot seven WR with great moves and hands running 4,4 (Jones), Santana Moss, Heath Miller at TE, and ey. Sends chills up my spine.

Moved to Draft forum... since it's about the Draft..

crazyhorse1 wrote:The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of trading down and trying to grab a first round pick at DE, TE, or CB and Matt Jones. I'm convinced Jones is bound for stardom and say Heath Miller and Jones, or Fabian Washington and Jones, or Pollock and Jones or Other and Jones will be better than anybody we can conceivably nab at 9. Think about it. A six foot seven WR with great moves and hands running 4,4 (Jones), Santana Moss, Heath Miller at TE, and ey. Sends chills up my spine.

You're talking about Drew Bennett. Whoop-tee-doo.
He is a project, face it. Teams like the Eagles, Cowboys, Chargers can take the risk of drafting him since those teams have multiple picks. Take a step back and look at the reality...he was a QB and never played receiver. Would you risk a draft pick on a guy that might not adjust well to the change?

PS, wrong forum too, this is a "draft" topic.

All projects aren't equal.

Jones isn't some guy you draft in the sixth or seventh round with the hope that maybe in a couple of years he can be a productive starter. He's a guy who's a contributor and possibly a starter who's causing matchup problems from Day 1. By his second season, he could literally be un-defendable.

In my mind, that's a risk worth taking under the right circumstances. I wouldn't take him at No. 9, but assuming Williams, Edwards, Rolle and PacMan are gone by the time our turn comes up, I'd certainly consider trading down to the middle of the first round if it also means picking up a mid-second rounder. And if Jones is still on the board at that point, I jump all over him.

Taking Jones at 9 would be taking too great a chance. My feeling is that we would be taking a chance with anyone we are likely to get at 9, this draft being what it is. Merriman, for instance, is a huge gamble, and Rolle may be too slow. Williams, too, is slow, which might not worry you, but worries me. Fabian (size), Pollock (size), and Miller (groin), are also gambles. My plan gives us two players for the price of one to gamble on. I think you overrate Williams, Rolle, Merriman,et al. There's not much difference between the top and the bottom of this first round. Half the players in it have bust written all over them.
Jones is probably the best athlete in the draft--certainly the most spectacular runner--on the order of Michael Vick, but much taller.

I like Matt Jones, but he is not a first rounder...i will say that if he played receiver for his career and was already 4 years experienced at running routes, keeping defenders off balance...RUN BLOCKING..etc...then he would be a first round talent...but truth is...he is a converted QB...and looking at guys like Tim Couch...etc...I don't know that you gamble like that....I would not mind taking him with our 2nd and 3rd...Gibbs said he would entertain moving back...to get more picks...

Trading down in general is a great idea, Matt Jones aside. The problem is who do you trade with? With no real superstars in this draft, but plenty of depth, who would be willing to give more money, and give up picks for a number 9? In this years draft the number 5 and number 25 aren't much different.

Chad

As much as everybody has fallen in love with Matt Jones, the problem is he doesn't fit into Gibbs' offense. He's certainly not ready to be an NFL wide receiver, and he doesn't want to play tight end (where the routes are pretty basic), and in Gibb's offense the H-backs and tight ends have to block, so I don't think Gibbs has the luxury of burning a high draft pick on a guy he can't really use right away... especially when they have immediate needs...

... he would end up being a specialty guy, running deep routes, endzone fade patterns, and the vaunted(Gardner) end-around pass... those are nice to have, but not when we have so many every-down needs...

Chaddukes Wrote:

Trading down in general is a great idea, Matt Jones aside. The problem is who do you trade with? With no real superstars in this draft, but plenty of depth, who would be willing to give more money, and give up picks for a number 9? In this years draft the number 5 and number 25 aren't much different.

Very true, I believe we could move down but probably just a few picks. Maybe we could do that several times.

I am from Arkansas, and am a Razorback fan. This talk of taking Matt Jones in the first round is frightening to me. He is a great athlete, he WAS the Arkansas offense, he really made things happen, but to take him in the first round to play wr is a gamble not worth taking. Word out of Fayetteville is that he is a party guy, somewhat aloof, and not very smart. Does that sound like a Gibbs pick? I hope not.

Another Matt Jones thread.

You have to like his athleticism, but he has to learn a new position. He's never played receiver. Has to learn how to run crisper routes, has to learn how to block, has to learn hot reads ( apparently couldn't make them as a qb at Arkansas), etc.

No one can say if he will be able to do this, but IMHO you don't waste a #9 on someone who never played the position.

His demeanor is very low key. Laid back. If that means calm under pressure - great quality. If that means lazy with a poor work ethic and gets by on his natural ability, he will probably never succeed. Even great athletes fail in the nfl.

I think taking him at #9 would be too great a risk. And nobody wants to trade up so how can we trade down? I would feel more comfortable with a corner. Or with the most talented player on the board at the time.

BTW, I also disagree with Merriman jumping up the draft board based on good workouts. Don't take him at #9 either.

Want some stories about him?

-A girl once asked him at school to sign a football for her sister turning six; he asked for ten dollars. This is when he is a junior..

-"Injuries" kept him on the bench in losses. He came out early verse Auburn and Georgia... Our last drive of the year verse LSU took place with him on the bench.

-Was on the sideline laughing and showing off to a camera after he fumbled on the 8-yard line in a 22-20 loss to Texas.

...Should I go on?

I don't want him. I'd rather have Michael Westbrook than have Matt Jones.

I used to like him, but then I thought about it.

Forgety Matt Jones, promote Dante Ridgeway.

He seems like Jeremy Shockey's long lost little brother...but with more speed...and less experience catching passes.

Kiper has Matt Jones going to Philly, but I don't think Reid will do it.

DE is getting a little thin for him. Kearse on the one side, but ND Kalu on the other is still working on rehab and can't begin any conditioning yet. Does he come back 100%? If not they have former first rounder McDougal, but JJ chose to play Hugh Douglas with a busted wing over Mcdougal.

I think they realize he is a bust. Burgess is gone, so that leaves Jamaal Green as the only other DE.
McDougal, Douglas, Kalu, Green. That's it.

If Matt Roth (DE Iowa)falls to #31 I could see the Iggles taking him.

Maybe they try to move up a few places to grab Erasmus James or David Pollack. They have 2 2nd rounders, 2 3rd rounders and 13 total picks.

The Hogster wrote:He seems like Jeremy Shockey's long lost little brother...but with more speed...and less experience catching passes.

Shockey? What?

I was thinking more KW2's brother.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/co ... id=2025109

Doesn't sound all that conceited to me. I actually dismissed this thread but after reading this article i do want this guy. I think it would be a great pick up for us. With Thrash, Moss and Patten he wouldn't even have to start right away. Give him a year to get used to the position. If we could find somebody to trade down with, I say we pick up Jones and a 2nd or 3rd rounder. We could draft a MLB and a CB in those rounds, or sign somebody if the talent isn't there to get starters. Either way we'd be getting a possible Mike Williams at less money and we'd pick up another future starter. Doesn't sound too bad does it.

But of course, only if we could trade down and pick up another pick

skins81 wrote:If Matt Roth (DE Iowa)falls to #31 I could see the Iggles taking him.

We're not staying put at 31. It's unpossible.

Let's get real fast. Matt Jones is the best athlete in the draft, by many accounts now, including Dave Butz's. He's also over 6'6", runs the 40 in less than 4.4, and weights over 240. He has wonderful hands, is acrobatic, and has unbelievable moves, by all accounts, and has,arguably, the best stats in the nation. All the old rules go out the window for this guy. He could prove to be unstoppable. Any comparison you can come up with to him is flawed-- no so called project has ever had such a string of assets.

The only reason I wouldn't take Jones at #9 is that if we trade down we won't have to.

Drafting Matt Jones would be a disaster. I'm from Arkansas, trust me, we don't want this guy. Gibbs will not draft this guy. He has no intensity, no heart, he just doesn't seem to care if you win or not. He is poison.