Eric Crouch wanted to play QB in the NFL. Jones just wants to play, there is a big difference between the two. Jones is alot bigger, faster, and is willing to play where ever he has a chance to.

Matt Jones is 6'6 and runs a 4.4. They say he has good hands too. He will not be a QB but a WR. They say he's the best athlete in the draft. I think he will go in the first round or early second. Denver will trade their 1st round away and draft a CB in the second. Watch and see!!!

Matt has the heart to play. He wants to play no matter what position. He loves the game. Also he wasn't a bad QB he completed 58 % of his passes and set school marks for yards passing but he's not great. But also as I've said before he's never been in a passing system with a real QB coach before so who knows.

If those group are the best available at 25 we will move into the 2nd round without a doubt, as 24CHAMP24 stated. I believe we would trade away the pick before we would even think about Jones...We could trade with Philly for their 2 second rounders and take Vincent Jackson and a DT that drops or a CB. Vincent Jackson has comparable speed and size with Jones and has loads of experience playing WR.

Green Bay has two 2nd rders. and are looking to move up in the draft, maybe squeese our 1st for there highest 2nd this year and their first next year and maybe they'd throw in another higher pick also. 4th or 5th maybe

Yea we could use some mid rounders. There will be 100 players taken after our 3rd round pick and before our next pick. :ugh:

Jones is a receiver
 

Having watched Jones through his entire 4-year career at Arkansas, I know that he will never be an NFL QB. He knows this, too, and has no aspirations of becoming one (unlike Eric Crouch and those in his ilk). Jones has a strong arm, and was accurate when his feet were set, which was rare. Jones was always moving around. He always tried to hold the ball to make a big play because he felt with his elusiveness that he could make the first pass rusher miss. His self-confidence would often get the better of him, though, because he would sometimes try to force a ball in coverage, or make a pass when he was going down, which resulted in a lot of turnovers. Jones was a run-first QB in a run-oriented system. In college, Daunte Culpepper was a pass-first QB who could do a lot of damage as a runner. In that regard, Jones is more comparable to Michael Vick, but he has nowhere near Vick's arm-strength.

Bottome line is he just doesn't have the decision-making capability to ever fit into an NFL passing system of any kind. He would need to be tutored extensively on that, which would be a waste of his talents. He'll be a receiver, and nothing more.

Ideally, however, a team could use him in short yardage situations or 2-point conversions under center (much like the Steelers do with Ward or Randle El). Also, just bringing him in motion from a receiver spot and faking an end-around with him will be enough to keep a lot of defenses on their heels. The ends will have to stay at home to guard against the end-around, and safeties will not be able to cheat up for fear of an option pass. The Broncos use this type of motion a lot in their standard running game. Having a multi-dimensional threat like Jones would just enhance the effectiveness of those types of plays.

Interesting...

I've seen mock drafts where the Chiefs take him in the 1st.

That would be hilarious, because the fans would riot! :laugh:

If we draft Matt Jones in the 1st round, I will flunk half of my students! Most of you who are pushing the Matt Jones pick are either A)still in school, or B)from Arkansas or the surrounding area. If you are B, do not let your love for your college team (or a player from that team) overcome your good sense. If the Broncos draft Jones, forget about the Q vs Tator thread wars, it'll be Plummer vs Jones! I have seen Jones play, and he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if it was dropped on him. He is a project pick. He played QB in HS and college. Now, not only does he have to learn a new position, but against the BEST athletes in the world!! Do not look for him to have any success until his 3rd or 4th season. Look at Bennet for the Titans(QB at UCLA). If you are A, I appreciate your love for the broncos, as do many of the other posters on here, but I will give you some advice one of my coaches gave to me. "If God wanted you to speak more than listen, he would have given you two mouths and one ear." The best thing for our team to do is to do one of the following.
1. Draft D-Lineman: Whether it is a DE or DT, youth at this position will build for the future. We need to be able to get more pressure on the QB.
2. Draft O-Lineman: If we can get a good one in the 1st round, better than any of the remaining D lineman, we should take it.
3. Draft a dropper: If a player that should have been taken in the top 12 or so is avaliable(Mark Jackson), take him.
4. Trade for more picks this year and another next year.

Someone will end up overdrafting for Jones. Sure his size and physical gifts are a given, but what position does he play?

He will never be a QB, he has extremely poor accuracy and he doesn't know how to read a defense. He has heard from virtually every scout that he just isn't an NFL QB, that's why he worked out as a reciever at the combine.

Do you play him at TE? Does he know how to block?

I guess that leaves him at reciever. He is a good 2-3 year protege to learn all the ins and outs to be truly effective there also.

I say pass. That isn't the kind of guy you want to draft in the first round. Plenty of other players in the draft I could think of before Jones that would be available.

Mark Jackson?
 

Who is Mark Jackson, and why would he be dropping in the first round?

I see a lot of posters who say "use the draft to take linemen to build for the future" on the one hand, but then expect to get immediate results from a skill position player taken in the first round. Why the contradiction?

Wouldn't you want to take a player who you believed would be a superstar in 3 to 4 years? The reason Jones is getting so much interest has more to do with his performances in front of scouts (i.e. in Senior Bowl practices, at scouting combines, etc) than just his plain measurables. Scouts wanted to see if he could run routes and catch, which he obviously can, or teams would not be taking an interest in him.

Drew Bennett is a great player, but he had to work hard at making the transition. He doesn't have Jones' speed, and he's not as tall. Would you like to have Drew Bennett on the Broncos now? Would you like to have a player of Bennett's caliber on the Broncos in 3 years?

Every pick in the draft is a speculative one because no player (at any position) has yet played against NFL competition. They're ALL projects for the future.

No one cares whether or not Jones can hit the broad side of a barn. If Denver drafted him, it wouldn't be to play QB. At Arkansas and in HS, he did slightly more than just QB. He was really more of a running back at Arkansas anyway.

Do not assume that people who are pushing for Jones are a) uniformed students, or b) Arky homers who have never seen any other football player with Jones' particular skill set. Fans know good football players when they see them. So do NFL scouts. That's why Jones' stock has risen so far. Scouts, like fans, believe he can make the transition from college QB to NFL receiver. Moreover, there are a lot of teams and players with experience at helping a player make that transition or at making it themselves.

For my part, do I believe Denver should take Jones at 25? No. Not if there's a player on their board with a much higher grade who's still available at that position. However, if Denver wants Jones and believes he won't last until their pick at 56 (which he won't), then why would anyone argue that they shouldn't take him at 25, or maybe try and move down a couple of spots and still get him in early rd. 2? He'd be a project, yes, but that's why coaches get paid, isn't it?

Taking Jones is a gamble at best. He has a very good chance of being a total bust, learning a new position that he never played, and all of a sudden because he ran a good 40 time everybodys slobbering.

Can you say bust in the making?

Heck lets pick Jones and throw the 1st round pick away for results that MIGHT come 5 years down the road.:confused:

No thanks :P

I knew when I wrote his name that it didn't sound right. I meant Mark Clayton. I just didn't have time to look it up or think about it long enough.
First of all, I didn't contradict myself. I say draft a D-Lineman for the future. I like who we have as our D-Line right now. If they all work out, it'll be great. If one does real well this year(Warren) and leaves next year we will have their replacement who had a year to learn. If one or more cannot recover from their injuries and do not play up to par this year, we, again, have their replacement next year with a year to learn. If injuries keep them from performing this year, we have depth. That is my reason for drafting a dlineman.
Secondly, noone is gauranteed to be a superstar in this league. Matt Jones is not even close. He is another Drew Bennett project. It'll take two or three years for him to be productive, and that is if he picks up the intricacies of playing WR in the NFL. His measurables really are the only things that is causing his draft status to skyrocket. As always, coaches, owners, and others in the decision making process are in love with a player because of his measurables. Every year they do this, and a players stock rises. Does he play to his potential? Normally, no. And that is with players who have already played that position. Making a switch makes it even more of a risk.
Finally, I too, saw Jones play. And yes he did make incredible runs as a QB. Yes he really played like a RB. BUT, can he catch? Can he run precise routes? Will he block? Can he take the hit? He cannot count on his athletic ability to get him by in the NFL. These guys are absolute monsters. He will not be able to go deep on every DB. QBs generally slide or run out of bounds when scrambling. Do you want a WR that does that?
Think about it. The other QB at Arkansas was the better passer, and yet instead of telling Coach Nutt that he would move to WR or TE, Jones still believed he could contribute as a passer. That is selfish. They would have been a better offense if he would have moved. But he didn't. It is only now after every owner, coach, and scout tell him he could never play in the NFL as a QB, does he decide, for his own good, to tryout as WR. Someone will draft him, definitely. Honestly, I wouldn't mind him coming to us, but not in the first, nor really the second. If he fell to us in the third, take him.

More on Jones at Arkansas
 

First, I don't disagree with everything you say. I always thought Jones would be a steal in rd 2 or 3, but probably doesn't warrant a number one despite his upside. His measurables, while remarkable, were not the only thing responsible for his rise up the draft board. He proved at the Senior Bowl (mostly in practices) that he had great hands, drawing comparisons to Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates (more as players who played basketball in college and translated that ability into football, not to imply he would be a TE). I know it will take time for him to learn how to run routes, but I think he'll have a familiarity with where to be on the field from having been a QB, and having worked as a receiver in practice at Arkansas.

I have to disagree with what you said about him choosing to stay at QB. As a freshman he was used only as a receiver up until the fourth quarter of the Ole Miss game (the 7 OT game). The starter (Matt Sorahan) was stinking up the joint, so Houston Nutt put Jones in as a change-of-pace. Arkansas was down to Ole Miss 17-10 at the time. Jones led the team to the tying TD and took every snap under center in all 7 OTs. He remained the primary starter after that, but still split time at WR.

Last year Nutt had planned to use Jones more at WR, but he didn't have a QB ready to play at the SEC level (the top QB after Jones on the depth chart was freshman Robert Johnson), so Jones stayed at QB. This was Nutt's choice, not Jones'. Arkansas lost 4 juniors off their 2003 team when they declared early for the draft (OT-Shawn Andrews, corners Ahmad Carroll and Lawrence Richardson, and huge TE-Jason Peters). Arkansas also lost the rest of their offensive starters. Jones was the ONLY returning starter and the only guy who knew the offense, so he had to stay at QB for most of the year.

Nutt always knew Jones would have to switch to receiver in the pros, but he kept him at QB to give Arkansas a chance to compete for a winning record and a bowl game (as a reward to their seniors). At 5-6, they fell short. I have never read or heard anything from Jones that would indicate he has ever aspired to being a QB in the NFL. He has always maintained that he just wanted to play football. Had those 4 juniors not declared, Arkansas would have been a better team, and probably would have had more opportunities for their freshman QB to play (and for Jones to play WR). As such, it was still a hotly debated topic in Arkansas - Jones vs. Johnson at QB. With stud freshman WR, Marcus Monk, and Jones, Arkansas would have been able to create a lot of mismatches against opposing secondaries. However, Nutt just didn't trust Johnson, and the run plays and QB options were easier for the young offensive players to learn.

Even in blowouts, Nutt waited until late to bring in Johnson because he wanted his younger skill players to get used to playing with Matt at QB (in preparation for the SEC schedule) instead of giving more reps to his freshman. This was probably due to the fact that Nutt wasn't sold on Johnson winning the starting QB job this year (Arkansas also has Chad Mortenson on the team competing for the job).

Anyway, probably more info than you needed to know about Arkansas football, but it's meant to justify that Jones did not choose to stay at QB. Jones has also mentioned that he is aware of the difficulty of the transition and the fact that he will likely take more hits in one week in the NFL than he took in his 4 year career. He is quoted as saying he only took about 4 or 5 really hard shots in college. From watching him, this is not due to the fact that he runs out of bounds or slides at the threat of contact. On the contrary, Jones is one of those guys with the uncanny ability of contorting his body or making that last-second move that prevents one or even two players from getting a clean shot on him. And I never saw him take a hook slide in a game.

I haven't seen any behavior in him that would make him appear selfish. Aloof, yes. Self-confident to the point of being overconfident in his abilities, definitely. He will certainly have to learn in a hurry that he can't get by in the NFL at any position on raw talent alone.

Willingness to block? I don't know. Obviously, if he's a Bronco, he's gonna have to learn, period. He certainly has the frame for it, and I pity any corner that has to try and get in his way on a run play.