The Philadelphia Eagles are at an interesting spot in the NFL draft in April, as they have the fourth overall pick and a number of needs on both offense and defense and could take a player like Georgia's Jarvis Jones, who had his pro day this past week.
According to ESPN.com, Jones has his pro day on Thursday in his first official workout for NFL scouts and team personnel and although it was solid, the workout was not anything spectacular. The report said that Jones was pleased with his own performance, but he failed to wow scouts with his numbers, posting a 4.92 40-yard dash and a 30.5 foot jump in the vertical.
Jones is considered to be one of the top linebackers in the draft and he led the nation with 14.5 sacks, 24.5 tackles for a loss and seven forced fumbles last season. Jones has also needed to overcome concerns about his health, which has been following him since starting out at USC. While Jones was with the Trojans he suffered an injury and it was revealed he had a narrow spinal canal.
After leaving USC Jones came to Georgia and dominated on defense, but as he moves to the NFL his neck is a concern for teams. The report said that all 32 teams had people at the pro day watching Jones and other players from the Bulldogs work out.
"I could have done a lot of things better, but at the end of the day, I went out there and I competed," said Jones. "I had fun."
The report says that Jones will meet privately with Kansas City, who has the number one pick, as well as the Eagles, Lions and Saints. The Eagles could be an intriguing choice, as the Chiefs are expected to pick a lineman and the Jaguars and Raiders could make offensive choices.
Urlacher could also be an option at linebacker, as the team could get him on the lower end of the salary scale after he couldn't work out a deal with the Chicago Bears. Urlacher said that the team refused to negotiate with him and offered a one-year, $2 million dollar deal that was more of an ultimatum than a fair negotiation.
The Eagles went just 4-12 last season and were inconsistent throughout the year. Andy Reid was fired after the season ended and Chip Kelly was brought in as the new head coach. He brought back Michael Vick and signed Dennis Dixon, so it is very unlikely that the Eagles will select a quarterback like Geno Smith, meaning Jones could be an option.
After his medical concerns and his pro day workouts Jones could slip out of the top 10, but he was dominant against offenses in the toughest conference in the nation and should be a very productive player in the NFL.
