Bronco_Beerslug
04-01-2005, 10:05 AM
I haven't followed is collegiate career that much but any man that big that can run a sub 4.4 has a chance to be something special in the NFL.
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Editor's note: Chris Mortensen's son, Alex, is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Arkansas in competition for Matt Jones' vacant position.
Steve Young, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, has long told me that one of these days there will be a football player so unique, so gifted and so different that he will cause some consternation among the NFL types who judge and coach the most talented football players in the world.
"And it's going to be up to those people, especially some offensive coordinator, to think outside the box and figure out what to do with a guy like that," Young said.
He didn't know it at the time, but Young was talking about someone available in the 2005 NFL draft -- a guy I believe is the best player in the draft.
Matt Jones is that player. Yes, the Arkansas quarterback NFL evaluators have been struggling to figure out.
Some have called him the most "intriguing" player in the draft. Or, as one personnel director asked me last week, "How's The Freak?"
Jones is a freak. Let's just remind you of his measurables again, as now officially recorded from his scouting combine and pro day workouts.
Height: 6-6¼
Weight: 242
40 time (hand-timed): 4.37 and 4.39
40 time (electronic): 4.40
Vertical jump: 39.5 inches
Standing broad jump: 10 feet, 9 inches
Let me explain how to translate some of these numbers because Jones, for the most part, is being projected as a receiver/H-back instead of a quarterback.
Based on watching Jones perform during Senior Bowl week, when he unabashedly exposed himself to playing receiver, scouts wondered about one or two things: Was he quick and explosive enough to play outside? Honestly, if Jones was not as quick as they wanted that week, it was attributed to the fact that he was playing a new position.
Give him four months to work on nothing but receiver, and you'll see plenty of quickness. Trust me.
That's what the vertical and broad jump measure: Explosiveness. Jones was among the very top athletes. He is quick. He is explosive. He also had one of the fastest 10-yard times while running his 40. His short cone drills and shuttles were just as impressive.
His hands? I think he has the best hands in the draft. He's a basketball player, gifted enough after his junior football season at Arkansas to earn a starting spot on the basketball team within two weeks of his late arrival.
"We charted every pass thrown to him during the Senior Bowl week, and [he] caught all but one," one personnel director said.
So, as a receiver, he's bigger than Southern California's Mike Williams, he's faster, he's more explosive and he might have better hands.
Some NFL teams have tried to peg him as a tight end or H-back because of his size. Jones has been truthful with NFL teams that have spoken with him. He's reluctant to play tight end.
"You know, it's funny," one AFC head coach told me last week. "We asked [Jones] about putting on some weight and playing tight end, and he made it clear that he thought it was foolish. He said, 'So you want me to put on 20 pounds and be a 4.57 guy instead of a 4.37 guy?' When you put that into context, you have to admit he makes sense. Match up a 6-6 guy who is that fast and athletic with great hands on any corner – even the tall ones – and how do you stop him?"
(CONTINUED)
http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/columns/story?columnist=mortensen_chris&id=2025109
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Editor's note: Chris Mortensen's son, Alex, is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Arkansas in competition for Matt Jones' vacant position.
Steve Young, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, has long told me that one of these days there will be a football player so unique, so gifted and so different that he will cause some consternation among the NFL types who judge and coach the most talented football players in the world.
"And it's going to be up to those people, especially some offensive coordinator, to think outside the box and figure out what to do with a guy like that," Young said.
He didn't know it at the time, but Young was talking about someone available in the 2005 NFL draft -- a guy I believe is the best player in the draft.
Matt Jones is that player. Yes, the Arkansas quarterback NFL evaluators have been struggling to figure out.
Some have called him the most "intriguing" player in the draft. Or, as one personnel director asked me last week, "How's The Freak?"
Jones is a freak. Let's just remind you of his measurables again, as now officially recorded from his scouting combine and pro day workouts.
Height: 6-6¼
Weight: 242
40 time (hand-timed): 4.37 and 4.39
40 time (electronic): 4.40
Vertical jump: 39.5 inches
Standing broad jump: 10 feet, 9 inches
Let me explain how to translate some of these numbers because Jones, for the most part, is being projected as a receiver/H-back instead of a quarterback.
Based on watching Jones perform during Senior Bowl week, when he unabashedly exposed himself to playing receiver, scouts wondered about one or two things: Was he quick and explosive enough to play outside? Honestly, if Jones was not as quick as they wanted that week, it was attributed to the fact that he was playing a new position.
Give him four months to work on nothing but receiver, and you'll see plenty of quickness. Trust me.
That's what the vertical and broad jump measure: Explosiveness. Jones was among the very top athletes. He is quick. He is explosive. He also had one of the fastest 10-yard times while running his 40. His short cone drills and shuttles were just as impressive.
His hands? I think he has the best hands in the draft. He's a basketball player, gifted enough after his junior football season at Arkansas to earn a starting spot on the basketball team within two weeks of his late arrival.
"We charted every pass thrown to him during the Senior Bowl week, and [he] caught all but one," one personnel director said.
So, as a receiver, he's bigger than Southern California's Mike Williams, he's faster, he's more explosive and he might have better hands.
Some NFL teams have tried to peg him as a tight end or H-back because of his size. Jones has been truthful with NFL teams that have spoken with him. He's reluctant to play tight end.
"You know, it's funny," one AFC head coach told me last week. "We asked [Jones] about putting on some weight and playing tight end, and he made it clear that he thought it was foolish. He said, 'So you want me to put on 20 pounds and be a 4.57 guy instead of a 4.37 guy?' When you put that into context, you have to admit he makes sense. Match up a 6-6 guy who is that fast and athletic with great hands on any corner – even the tall ones – and how do you stop him?"
(CONTINUED)
http://proxy.espn.go.com/nfl/draft05/columns/story?columnist=mortensen_chris&id=2025109