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LB Mike Jones Jr., LSU
I don't know what this team thinks of LB Jack Cochrane, but they're about to have some depth issues after their three high draftees in the wake of LB Darius Harris moving on. They might be able to use someone with Mike Jones' skillset anyway, as two of the three starting LBs this team has are downhill hitters, even though LB Willie Gay is now showing versatility at playing uphill and downhill. That doesn't change the fact that earlier this year, Gay was getting so burnt against the Bengals in Week 13 that they yanked him and put Harris in. The Chiefs need more coverage talent in the LB room.
Jones offers that. In the LB Nick Bolton mode, he's not going to be as adept pounding into the line of scrimmage, but a 230 lbs linebacker that is athletic enough to get a lot of depth on his drops and smother tight ends out of their brakes is going to be valubable over the next 10 years. I don't know if Jones is going to get drafted on the second day, but he should. But not by the Chiefs, who've spent second-day picks on LB for the past three years.
Jones' depth in his drops is rare. He shows a real stickiness that you're more used to seeing from safety. That said, he might be limited to third down, obvious passing situations, but I'm willing to see what his size/power is at the Combine. Maybe that can be coached into him, but personally I'm in the Leo Chenal state of mind where slamming into the line of scrimmage is more of a mindset than anything. I think Jones is a sleeper to slip up draft boards.
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