Jamarco Jones brings solid experience to the Seahawks at tackle

Ohio State left tackle Jamarco Jones adds much needed depth to the Seahawks offensive line. This is a great pick at the bottom of the fifth.

Jamarco Jones was ranked as high as the third best prospect by some sites. Okay, make that site Pro Football Focus. He gave up all of three sacks in three seasons at Ohio State. Sorry, THE Ohio State University. There, my sister-in-law is happy now. That’s three sacks in over 1,800 snaps. As a senior he gave up just two additional quarterback hits and seven hurries. He managed all this while committing just three penalties. That’s new territory for the Seahawks.

CBS Sports didn’t love him as much as Pro Football Focus, as they have Jones ranked seventh among all tackles. The NFL’s pre-draft ranking was eighth, so maybe PFF is the outlier. So why would a guy who gave up virtually nothing while playing so clean be ranked that low?

According to the fine folks of the NFL, Jones doesn’t have the best body control or leverage. His performance at the combine was somewhat underwhelming as well. This is the most damning comment by far, from an unnamed NFL executive:

"“I thought his tape was average myself. You like him more than I do. His Combine was awful. He athletic testing was reject level. It’s hard to trust a tackle to start if he has reject level testing.”"

I have to say, that doesn’t fill me with confidence. Then again, the combine isn’t exactly fool-proof. Comparing three years of football to a weekend of drills may not always get you the best results. Jones started at left tackle for two years at one of the NCAA’s top teams. That has to be worth something in itself, beyond all the stats and drills you can find. I’ll take a guy who can fight off Big 10 defensive linemen like Jones did any day of the week. Especially on day three.