NFL Mock Draft 2013: St. Louis Rams Select Jarvis Jones

Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia

This was a pretty difficult pick to make with Cordarrelle Patterson still on the board, and I'm sure there are going to be a number of people who will disagree with me but I do think this is the right pick for St. Louis. First, you have to be flexible in the draft room and looking at the board, the top four consensus wide receivers are still on the board (Patterson, Austin, Allen, and Hopkins). The Rams will be picking again in 4 spots, so the odds of all four of these guys coming off the board are very slim. Any of these four players would upgrade the position so the team could essentially take a pass here and look to add the best player available.

Jarvis Jones recently got a clean bill of health, in fact, the NFL is not going to ask him to submit to further testing. There is of course the chance that the USC doctors got it right but as of now it looks like there are no immediate medical concerns for him. With that being said, sure, he ran a disappointing 40-yard dash at his pro day. There are two schools of thought about the 40-yard dash. The first would say the 40-yard dash is a huge indicator about what a player can do in the NFL. The other school believes that if you watch a player dominate a league such as the SEC on scores of tape that the 40 yard dash means nothing. Guess which school of thought I believe?

Jones was a menace in the best league in college football. He had a knack for getting to the quarterback, forcing turnovers, and giving offensive coordinators some sleepless nights. If you take away the medical concerns and he runs a .2 second faster 40 yard dash, we are talking about a top 5 talent. In fact, he very well may still go in the top 10. By comparison, here is a guy who produced in college and he will go after Dion Jordan, but I do believe, when it's all said and done, Jones will be the player we remember as being a force on the field and Jordan will be a workout wonder who never really produced to a level that people thought he was be capable of doing (think Mike Mamula).

The divisional games also loom large in this pick. The 49ers and Seahawks have mobile quarterbacks who can keep plays going, tuck the ball, and run for huge chunks of yards. Think about the potential difference Jones makes here. Coming off the edge on the same side as either Chris Long or Robert Quinn, I do not think there may be any running back who could effectively block either, the time Kaepernick or Wilson would have to be creative on the move would be limited. If Jones and his edge rushing partner prove especially effective, it may force them to hold the tight end in and take a big target away from the offense or force a team to keep a second tight end on the field and a third receiver off the field.

There is a need on the Rams for an outside linebacker and with a clean bill of health Jones is the best player on the board. It's a solid fit for this team and as tempting as nabbing the best wide receiver prospect for St. Louis would be, it's the wrong pick here. Very rarely do receivers make a big, immediate impact, and besides, there will still be great options on the board in a few picks and if the four players mentioned earlier started getting run off the board, the Rams have the ammunition to move up a spot or two to get one of them. With Jones, it's a different story. Jones will not be on the board when their second first rounder comes up. If Jones does fall to the Rams here it will be the biggest steal of the draft.

Thanks to all the CSC members who participated in this year's community mock draft. Without your help, none of this would be possible.

Below are the complete results from our community mock draft.

Catch up with all of the mock draft selections in our 2013 CSC Community Draft Section.