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One prospect who could interest the Denver Broncos in the first two rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft is former Mississippi State defensive lineman Chris Jones. He is a 6'6", 310lb defensive lineman who is considered one of the better 3-4 defensive ends in the draft. Jones is ranked as the 74th overall prospect in the 2016 NFL Draft according to CBS Sports, and is ranked as the 10th best defensive tackle in the draft.
During Jones's three-year career at Mississippi State, he totaled 94 tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, and 10 pass deflections. This past season he totaled 36 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, and 4 pass deflections.
Chris Jones
Defensive Lineman, Junior, Mississippi State
Height: 6'6" Weight: 310lbs 40 time: 5.03 seconds
Arm Length: 34 1/2" Hands: 10 3/4"
Bench Press: 26 reps Vertical Jump: 24.5 inches
Broad Jump: 106.0 inches 3 Cone Drill: 7.44 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.62 seconds
Film Room
Scouting Report
Strengths:
- Very strong
- Violent and strong hands
- Has quick feet for a big man
- Has pass rushing skills and can get to the quarterback quickly
- Great tackler
- Clogs running lanes and attacks the ball carrier
- Uses his long arms to his advantage
- Hard worker on the practice field and weight room
- Versatile player who lined up in multiple spots along the line
- Great body control
- Explosive off the snap
- Tons of potential
- Plays a little tall sometimes
- Inconsistent pad level
- Needs more pass rushing moves
- His motor runs out of gas if the play carries on too long
- One year wonder
- Raw player who needs work
Does Chris Jones fit with the Broncos?
Perfect fit!
He is your prototypical 3-4 defensive end. Has the size, length, long arm, strength, and explosion. I think he could step in and play right away for the Broncos, and potentially start opposite of Derek Wolfe in the Broncos base 3-4 defense. He has the pass rushing skills to move inside on passing down and provide interior pressure to the quarterback.
He is the type of prospect I can see Broncos defensive line coach Bill Kollar getting the most of. He has a great skill set and just needs a coach to get him pointed in the right direction.
Jones was a strong option for the Broncos in the late first round, but a recent arrest may have hurt his stock. Chris Jones, who was stopped for speeding then arrested for driving with a suspended license according to Pro Football Talk.
It will be interesting to see if this arrest affects Jones's draft stock. If so, the Broncos could potentially snag Jones in the second round.
I think he will be the perfect replacement for Malik Jackson in Denver.