Chris Jones DE

Chris Jones DE Mississippi State 6'5" 308. I think this guy could be in the mix with our second rounder. Compare to Tuitt in size-- Tuitt is 6'6" 303 on Steelers.com Versatile enough to play the 5 in base and the 2 in nickel. He's athletic and has some heavy hands. High effort guy who puts in the work off the field as well. One thing Mitchell will cringe at is his tendency to fire straight up at the snap instead of out. Mitchell will set to work on that though.

Seems to have that nice blend of athleticism and size that would fit nicely with our current DEs. Would definitely help the depth issue on the DL.

 

I would prefer that picks that are used for depth purposes come in the later rounds.

 

and if heyward or tuitt go down with an extended injury? How many snaps did those two play last year? a ton. a rotational DE is not a back up to one starter only. he gives both starters a breather.

 

But we have glaring needs for starter level talent at other positions.

 

I think they will draft a DL within the first 3 rds. This draft has depth at DL and safety.

 

Why did we draft Golson in the second when Gay is the starter? or Coates in the third when we have AB, Wheaton and Bryant? OL is the only position it seems where there's no rotation. Guess I view the rotational guys as more than "just depth" for certain positions. Don't feel like arguing semantics though. Seems like a bad approach for the long term imo.

Jones just seems like a good fit, maybe he could be had in the third or fourth, who knows. His standing up and some questionable pursuit efforts (a knock on him by some) may push him down.

 

We drafted Golson because all of our CB's besides Allen are FA. THey Drafted Coates because of Bryant's drug issues.

 

You might find this funny but I think jones will be better than tuitt. I am not saying I dislike tuitt at all. Jones reminds u of a heyward, Aaron smith kinda guy. He doesn't stop. He can be 20 yards away from the ball and keep going until whistle blows

 

Just curious, could you list those positions?

 

Jones hasn't played a snap in the NFL. Tuitt is a budding superstar. I don't mean to dis your post but have you watched Tuitt? I am ALL for replacing Tomato Cam Thomas and I hope they address the DE position somewhere in the draft and FA for depth rotation but there are more needs in the backfield first. And now a possible TE somewhere in the first 3. I have hope for Jesse James and I believe they will give him the chance to start but they just lost a major part of their Offense. If they draft him i'm all for it but he will not see serious playing time unless the entranced duo of Heyward and Tuitt go down. As a 2nd rounder he would be drafted to start, not just spell for a few snaps.

 

I've read that Chris Jones compares to Malik Jackson of the Broncos. And the thing with that Broncos pass rush was that if Von Miller didn't get you, Ware, Wolfe or Jackson probably would. They had pressure coming from all angles consistently. We don't have that with our defense. If our first guy misses the QB, then usually there isn't someone else to mop up.

We need another 3rd down pass rusher. Whether it's a 6'5" 300lb DT, a 6'4" 270 DE, or a 6'2" 250lb OLB shouldn't matter; we'd find playing time for all of them. If Jones is that guy then I'd be 100% ok with drafting him. And personally I think the DT offers most value as they could also spell Tuitt and Heyward in our base defense.

 

S,CB,olb, te...

 

washington from ohio st. wouldn't be a bad guy to fall in our laps in the 2nd either. i doubt we go that way but he's probably there for the taking if we wanted.

 

U misunderstood. I didn't say right now. I said I think he WILL be better. Unless u think tuitt is jj watt u can't dismiss that cause nobody knows. I think jones right now is better than tuitt was in college.

I do agree with u on tuitt. I think he will be a good player. I like him. I am of the old school belief u can't have enough good lineman anyway lol

 

Hey I'm not a Jarvis Jones fan, but I believe he is at least starter level material. If that's who you're referring to since you listed OLB. I don't see OLB as a "glaring" need. But we may differ on that. Pass rush needs to be improved that's for sure. But that can be DT, DE, OLB. S, CB, TE I agree, they definitely have some holes.

So you're saying we should limit the first 3-4 picks to those positions exclusively? I doubt KC would see it that way. I just don't think you can eliminate a position group like that, even BEFORE FA begins. And I don't think they are drafting this April thinking they are going to get 3-4 starters for the 2016 season.

 

If they had viable backups, the def. line rotation would be used more than a few snaps. Much like the DBs. I don't think you can expect Heyward and Tuitt to log that many snaps year in and year out.

I'm just saying a DL in the mold of a Tuitt/DE should not be ruled out of consideration for the first couple rounds. It may be Jones it may not, but I couldn't overlook the players at that position.

 

if you consider 3 sacks in 3 seasons starter level we aren't going to agree on much. Jones was way way way overdrafted and is a backup level player at best

 

He definitely has that athleticism, an nfl weight training program will do him wonders. He seemed overpowered at times, but I've only seen a couple games.

 

Turtle, I did some reading on him and I have to say nice find here. This is an interesting bit I thought I would share with you:

He's strong and fast enough to move inside as needed - which is good because it means he can rotate in for the 2-4-5 Nickel package - but he also has the length and basketball background that the Steelers like for their Defensive Ends. Keep an eye on this one.

 

Not sure we want a streaker on our team. Did anyone check out his second 40 at the combine? NSFW but comical if you care to google it...

 

They say, the best way to protect a weak secondary is to have a hellacious pass rush. Look at the Giants in the first Super Bowl when they beat the hell out of Brady. I can't remember not one player in that secondary and I know that secondary wasn't stellar either. So you could make the argument that adding a guy to the D-line rotation is protecting the secondary.

We are trying to address needs but the key is to address them adequately. And we all want to fix 3-4 areas in the first two rounds. LOL. But that's because we love our team.

 

Yup. And that Denver pass rush this year wasn't just Von Miller. It was him and a bunch of other guys. Pressure came from everywhere and had people waiting to clean up if the first guy missed.

 

GB, Denver had a Miller and a Ware which takes a ton of pressure off the "other guys" to clean up. We don't have that our ends are good but they are not pass rushers like Miller and Ware. I have a lot of hope for Dupree, I liked what he showed this year. Yeah there is plenty of room for improvement but he show he could turn into a top rusher, imo. We need another rusher and then our ends could clean up as well, we are close we just need add one or two more. I also feel a blitzing S/CB would be key to add that surprise blitz back to this defense.