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Georgia held their Pro Day on Thursday and participating in that were two surefire top prospects in Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree. Ogletree's athleticism and strength stood out and he looks to be the prototypical middle linebacker in the NFL. He, in my opinion, would look great next to Daryl Washington for the Cardinals.
Jones, on the other hand, struggled a bit. Most concerning was his 40-yard dash time, which clocked in at 4.9 seconds according to XTRA 910's Mike Jurecki:
Jarvis Jones ran a 4.9 at his pro day, dnt run at the combine, needed a better showing, will still be a productive player, Manti Te'o speed!
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) March 21, 2013
Jones will likely play outside linebacker in the NFL and teams that run 3-4 defenses will be looking at him. He was a very productive player at Georgia, leading the nation with 14.5 sacks. The problem is, he doesn't appear to be very fast and needed to have a great pro day in order to allay fears of his spinal stenosis issue.
Teams are very worried that his back may not hold up in the NFL, which could cause him to drop come draft day. To me, that should be the biggest worry for teams, not his speed. You may recall Terrell Suggs running a very similar time at his ASU Pro Day and look how he has turned out. If Jones turns out to be half as good, his selection in the first round will be warranted.
If Jones is on the board at 7, which he likely will be, I think the Cardinals have to give him a good look. They desperately need an impact player to rush the passer and Jones could be that guy. They may also look at players like Barkevious Mingo or Dion Jordan.
What do you think? Does Jones' 40 time scare you? Or is it more about his back problems? Tell us in the comments section below.