Pick #26 - Datone Jones

[woodbuck27]

DJ Hayden would have been the highest ranked CB except he broke his leg (think the NCAA basketball toruney injury) in a practice and that red flag had him ranked lower on a lot of boards. Frankly, Milliner also had injuries (more of them), but they weren't as severe. I feel something like having a guy take out your shin by falling on it falls into the 'freak accident' category, and you shouldn't be labeled as 'injury prone' because of it.

However, I don't know if a label was the reason that Milliner was able to leapfrog him. It was the sheer catastrophic nature of that injury that suppressed his draft stock. Seems he made a near-full recovery as he ran a 4.33 40 and looked very agile in his pro day as well.

Mike Mayock is very strong on DJ Hayden. He didn't say good CB...he used the 'GREAT' word.

He'll be a good watch.

PACKERS !

[smuggler]

I hope adding the extra 20# doesn't mess with his game. If we could actually get some DL talent to stay healthy, we could control everyone's (Raji specifically) snap counts and the "taking plays off" thing would take care of itself.

[RashanGary]

Awe, shit, Wist. . . How many 6'4" 283lb DL come into the league every year who can hand fight with lineman well. Most guys make a living at that age on pure athleticism, jumping snaps and getting quick penetration. This guy has some skill on top of his raw talent. And every DL (NFL or otherwise) looks hot and cold. They're going against some bad-ass OL. Sometimes they just get stopped. At the end of Clifton's prime (and the beginning of Jared Allen's prime) there were a couple games where Jared Allen looked like CJ Wilson. DL don't win every battle and sometimes the OL just make them look bad, even if they're great. In the case of Jared Allen, I remember games where he looked bad from start to finish. And he's never been bad. Getting two pressures and one sack per game is all-pro.

I'm not a big fan of reading into the, looks great some plays, gets stopped others, thing. I think that's the nature of the game.

Justin Smith came into the league as a 6'4" 264 pound 4-3 DE. . . This kid we got has both talent (size/athleticism) and skill. And he wants to work, he wants to be great. . . . I just don't see him as a scary pick. Nick Perry now, that's another story. To me, that's a scary pick.

[wist43]

I thought Jones looked okay here against USC. Got turned out of the hole a few times... won't get easier in the NFL.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Scouts contradict each other all of the time. The report wist posted said that he takes plays off--while most reports that I've read is that he's tenacious as hell and doesn't take many plays off. Who knows really, but you can get negative on any player. Scouts are good at covering their asses. When I watch his video, he passes the "smell test." He looks like what you want out of a 3-4 DE prospect. I wonder what Clay Matthews bio read.

[wist43]

Awe, shit, Wist. . . How many 6'4" 283lb DL come into the league every year who can hand fight with lineman well. Most guys make a living at that age on pure athleticism, jumping snaps and getting quick penetration. This guy has some skill on top of his raw talent. And every DL (NFL or otherwise) looks hot and cold. They're going against some bad-ass OL. Sometimes they just get stopped. At the end of Clifton's prime (and the beginning of Jared Allen's prime) there were a couple games where Jared Allen looked like CJ Wilson. DL don't win every battle and sometimes the OL just make them look bad, even if they're great. In the case of Jared Allen, I remember games where he looked bad from start to finish. And he's never been bad. Getting two pressures and one sack per game is all-pro.

I'm not a big fan of reading into the, looks great some plays, gets stopped others, thing. I think that's the nature of the game.

Justin Smith came into the league as a 6'4" 264 pound 4-3 DE. . . This kid we got has both talent (size/athleticism) and skill. And he wants to work, he wants to be great. . . . I just don't see him as a scary pick. Nick Perry now, that's another story. To me, that's a scary pick.

Justin Smith is just a badass son of a bitch... I don't get too hung up on size.

As for giving up the edge - sorry, that is not acceptable. Justin Smith would never allow himself to be turned and ridden out of a play the way I see Jones sometimes.

As it said in the write up 3irth1 posted - I didn't write that. Jones does, in fact, have a bit of a history of 'playing down to the competition'. I probably watched more film of Jones than I did anyone else, it was enough to scare me off him. I like his ability, but I'm not sure what we're getting.

[wist43]

Scouts contradict each other all of the time. The report wist posted said that he takes plays off--while most reports that I've read is that he's tenacious as hell and doesn't take many plays off. Who knows really, but you can get negative on any player. Scouts are good at covering their asses. When I watch his video, he passes the "smell test." He looks like what you want out of a 3-4 DE prospect. I wonder what Clay Matthews bio read.

I didn't post that - 3irty1 did. I was just quoting it.

I agree with the write up though.

[HarveyWallbangers]

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2001/profile/justin_smith.html

Justin Smith draft bio (Hard to believe he's almost 34 years old)

Negatives... Too pass rush conscious, which causes him to slowly diagnose the running plays directed at him...Gets sealed off some when trying to display inside counter moves... Dips his shoulder when trying to move laterally, slowing down his agility...Strikes under control, but frequently grabs at ball carriers in run support, rather than wrapping them... Has a hard time disengaging from double coverage and can be controlled when attempting to shoot the inside gaps.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Universal praise--which means diddly squat.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/204804611.html

[wootah]

I looked up the Senior Bowl practice reports of nfldraftcountdown [ http://draftcountdown.com/features/S...enior-Bowl.php ] and these are the excerpts which mention Jones.

Monday:
For a lot of the practice the North team had the offensive linemen and defensive linemen battling in one-on-ones. The defensive linemen that really stood out the most were Texas defensive end Alex Oakfor, Purdue defensive tackle Kawann Short, UCLA tackle/end Datone Jones and Penn State defensive tackle Jordan Hill. All had excellent practices.

Tuesday:
DE Datone Jones played inside and outside today. Dipped past Hugh Thornton on an inside move from the DT position. Was also the only player to beat Eric Fisher off the egde today. Solid day and Jones showed some good physicality when playing inside.

Wednesday:
UCLA DE Datone Jones has at the very least solidified his status as a second or third round pick this week and has probably moved up most draft boards. An impressive physical specimen who profiles as either a left defensive end in an odd front or a five-technique in an odd front, Jones won his one-on-one battles by utilizing an array of different methods including a spin move and edge rush.

Thursday:
UCLA DE Datone Jones is expected to be either a base end or five technique in the NFL but I was surprised by how well he performed in the linebacker drills. Now Jones wasn’t the best of the group but he was far from the worst and did a solid job overall, especially for a guy who is 280 pounds. I doubt Jones will ever be a full-time linebacker at the next level but it may not be as absurd of an idea as once thought.

[RashanGary]

I watched that full game of Jones above. I don't think he took any plays off. There were times where his job at center was to make sure he didn't vacate the middle of the field, and sort of kept his eyes open for anything developing in the flat. I guess you could see that as him taking a play off, but I see it as him having a different responsibility. Saying a guy "takes a play off" is awful hard when you don't know what he's being asked to do. I thought he looked competitive, quick, fast and strong in that tape. He got pushed out a couple times (twice on double teams, at least once I remember by the RT) We're not drafting Ryan Pickett here. We're drafting a guy who's being asked to play the run and the pass.

He's already competitive with his hands at age 22. He's only going to get better. He's the most polished DL we've drafted since TT has been here, and that includes Raji. Raji had moments where he dominated, but he didn't come out with hands like this guy has. Mike Daniels was polished too, but not nearly the athlete.

[wist43]

I watched that full game of Jones above. I don't think he took any plays off. There were times where his job at center was to make sure he didn't vacate the middle of the field, and sort of kept his eyes open for anything developing in the flat. I guess you could see that as him taking a play off, but I see it as him having a different responsibility. Saying a guy "takes a play off" is awful hard when you don't know what he's being asked to do. I thought he looked competitive, quick, fast and strong in that tape. He got pushed out a couple times (twice on double teams, at least once I remember by the RT) We're not drafting Ryan Pickett here. We're drafting a guy who's being asked to play the run and the pass.

He's already competitive with his hands at age 22. He's only going to get better. He's the most polished DL we've drafted since TT has been here, and that includes Raji. Raji had moments where he dominated, but he didn't come out with hands like this guy has. Mike Daniels was polished too, but not nearly the athlete.

I said he looked good in that game.

[RashanGary]

I like this pick a lot. It's my favorite 1st round pick since BJ Raji. I hated the Clay Matthews pick, thought he should have been starting if he was a good player at USC. The Bulaga pick was good, but it didn't get me excited. I didn't like the Sherrod pick at all, thought he was a project. Nick Perry I started hating as soon as I saw him attempt to cover in the preseason.

This guy looks good, right now. He's going to get beat, especially early in his career. All DL do. But he has a feel for fighting in the trenches and has some WOW athletic ability. Just off the bat, looking at some of the drills and things they show online, I think he looks better in space than Nick Perry. Capers talked about liking to give Clay opportunities to attack inside. This guy opens up that playbook because he can switch spots with Clay and not get shredded even if he's asked to play in space.

[RashanGary]

This pick makes me hate the Nick Perry pick even more. We could have the RB, Doug Martin or the S Harrison Smith. Instead we have a pudgy OLB who covers like a DT. The DE we just drafted looks more fluid and natural in space than the OLB we drafted last year. On top of that, Perry is a big dummy and didn't want to be here. Makes me sick.

[wist43]

We needed a DE, we still need a NT - I've got my fingers crossed for Brandon Williams.

My take with Jones is somewhat similar to TT's draft last year. I do like Jones's talent; he has ability; and I do see him as a much more natural 5 than Raji. But as with Worthy... what player are we getting?? To me, there were enough red flags with Jones that I had crossed him off my wish list - conceding that he would likely be TT's pick if he were still on the board. If Jones was all that, he would have been a top 10 pick. He dropped to 26, and many had him rated lower than that, for a reason.

Truth be told, I was hoping someone would snag him before our pick, and that we'd trade out of the 1st round. But alas, Jones is a Packer, and I hope the flashes of good play are a glimpse of what he can do consistently on the next level.