Jarvis Jones' Draft Stock is in Free Fall

By Scott DelleFave
Jarvis Jones
Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Was University of Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jarvis Jones an exceptional talent in college? Without question, however it came at extreme risk. Jones has been diagnosed with spinal stenosis which has terminated careers such as all pro left tackle Marcus McNeil and hall of fame wide receiver Michael Irvin. People can’t help but feel bad Jones as his pro career has not even started.

Simply put, spinal stenosis is narrowing of the spinal column that causes pressure on the spinal cord, or narrowing of the openings where spinal nerves leave the spinal column. There is often great pain and numbness involved with this horrible affliction as one’s disks in their spine begin to dry out and bulge and surgery becomes the only option and thus likely one’s quality of life is drastically reduced to say the least.

This is a shame because a lot of draft experts had Jones pegged as a top ten pick even as high as 6th to the Cleveland Browns however with this medical condition, a lot of teams are taking him off their draft boards entirely. Frankly, this doesn’t surprise me as this is such a serious ailment that has no known treatment. While a lot of people saw him as a one trick pony as a pure pass rushing linebacker and some teams coveted that greatly, it clearly seems irrelevant now. Despite being taken off of a lot of draft boards, a team will take a chance on Jones if it is either desperate enough or thinks the stenosis isn’t as bad as is being reported.

Thanks for reading! If you want to discuss anything sports related, I’m on twitter @TheProfessorSD, Google+, and Facebook. Have a great day!

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