Why not pick Matt Jones? He has the Randy Moss type skills. You guys should read up on his numbers. 4.3 40 ...6'6" and 242 lbs. Who could stop him?

He has Randy Moss type physical numbers not Randy Moss type skills. The guy played QB in college, he's never played WR, which is what he seems to be projecting as. He's raw as a WR, so he'll take some development time. In some ways, he's reminiscent of Antwaan Randle El, but much bigger

Too much of a project to spend a first on, but maybe a second? (Randle El went late second)

Nice big guy to third string QB too!

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

This link was active on March 30, and has all the Matt Jones info you'll ever want to see.

John

Actually for those who might want to see more than Mortensen's love letter to Jones, here's a link to a scouting report:

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2005/jones_matt


Jim

For whatever it's worth (I have no idea if that's a lot or next to nothing), good old Cheer Or Die seems to be claiming that he has personally seen Jones listed at #1 on the Vikes' draft board. And that we'll take him with the #7 overall pick. And play him at running back.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/maasx003/Vikings/

It's an interesting tale but I'll believe it when I see it.

Jim

Same here. Jones is an outstanding athlete, but to go from QB to WR to RB? I'm not sure I believe that. Perhaps old Cheer Or Die might have been duped.

Craig

Maybe it was the quarterback listing... I dunno. Studwell isn't that stupid, right? Right?

Guys, does April 1st ring a bell with anyone?

It's all hooey.

That certainly seems more likely than a former QB being chosen with the #7 pick in the draft to play a new position at the NFL level.

Also: I could be wrong but 6' 6" seems pretty tall for a tailback.

Jim

Isn't that what we've been saying?

Jim

Not exactly - geez, I half expected some semi-serious discussion about the merits of Sid Finch being our #3 QB since he had a 100mph fastball.

Man, the draft [John McEnroe] CANNOT [/John McEnroe] come soon enough.

LOL! I guess I should have just come right out and called it "hooey" because that's what I thought it was from the start.



I know what you mean but we have weeks of waiting (and rumors) left.

Jim

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Co ... 033105.htm

"Now I will say there are guys such as Arkansas’ Matt Jones, who turned in some real eye-popping numbers at the Combine with a sub-4.4 40 at 6-6 and 242 pounds and who I think will be a fantastic football player. Maybe when it’s all said and done, he’ll be one of the best 10 or 15 players to come out of this year’s draft. I love the kid. All he did was win games for Arkansas. He knows what to do with the ball in his hands and can run by most of the people trying to tackle him. That, to me, is a good football player who will make it as an NFL receiver or H-back. And last time I checked, being a good football player was what it was all about."

It really sounds like Jones is the biggest boom/bust player in the NFL draft in a few years.

John

As Cheer Or Die has now confirmed.

But how is it an April Fools joke if you don't make it on April 1 (because you don't want people to figure out that it's an April Fools joke)?

Answer: it's not.

Jim

Jim's right. The posting was deceptive. It's not an April Fools joke when you do it a day early. I hope plenty of people follow his link to this thread to see me call him a big LAME-O.

The Matt Jones hype just keeps on coming:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/8344176

"No player's stock has risen faster ... Impressive on-campus workouts have caused him to go from an intriguing quarterback-turned-receiver to a highly talented playmaker with off-the-chart athletic ability that should be selected no lower than the middle of the second round ... Some teams see him as a natural fit as an H-back/tight end while others project him as a slot receiver ... Excellent hands, superb size (6-6 and 241 pounds) and strength ... Quarterback experience should enhance his capacity to learn how to run routes."

I'm starting to want this guy at #18, if we didn't get Braylon Edwards at #7. I frankly don't want any part of Mike Williams at #7 - he has bust written all over him to me. Getting Williams at #18 would be acceptable.

John

Yeah, I am starting to want him too. If nothing else is available at 18 that is solid. If he come even *close* to the expectations he would insane.

I thought I'd put these in here; I posted these, along with a few others, in the "Prospect Video" thread.

Matt Jones, QB/WR/TE Arkansas I
Matt Jones, QB/WR/TE Arkansas II

Don't let the Matt Jones hype die!

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=c ... &type=lgns

"You could hear the draft stock whistling skyward when, without provocation, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden nonchalantly dropped the name of Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones into a diatribe about draft royalty.
...
Suddenly, while praising Auburn running back Ronnie Brown and Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson, Gruden inserted Jones into the conversation – smirking over how the Arkansas quarterback had so casually clocked a 40-yard dash time of 4.39 seconds at the scouting combine. "

John

Jones could be worth a late 1st round pick, but I don't think I'd take him at 18. He definitely has the tools to excell, but is very raw and will be a project. Can he read a defense to find holes, can he run crisp routes, can he block downfield? The reason he struggled at QB was he couldn't read defenses very well. Hopefully he can adjust and learn the wideout position at the next level, but he is definitely a boom/bust prospect.

The occasional mock has Jones going to the Pennsylvanian teams at #30 or #31, mainly because they can take a more of a risk than the other teams - at least in the thinking of the "mockers". I haven't seen him picked any higher than that. Of course, you only need one team to "overrate" a player to get him to go higher - Willis McGahee for example.

John

That the same overrated McGahee that took Travis Henrys job, and rushed for 1100 yards in 11 games?

LOL! Yes, that's him.

Jim

Yeah that guys blows.

As always, there's another way to look at McGahee. Technically, he played in 15 games, starting 11. If you want to subtract the non-starts from his number of games, you need to subtract the 128 yards he gained in those games.

In actuality, the reason everyone else passed on McGahee in these days of the salary cap is that McGahee has gained 1128 yards in the 32 games that Buffalo has played since he's been on the roster. If he signed the standard four-year contract, free-agency hits twice as fast (two completely healthy years rather than four).

John