Future Packer Greg Jones?

Michigan State inside linebacker Greg Jones is featured in this week's future Packer series as the Spartans prepare to take on Michigan on Saturday.

Saturdays are made for college football. So here at Cheesehead TV we try to honor that tradition while keeping an eye toward the future and look at some of the players who will eventually be playing on Sundays.

Will the players featured in this series really become Green Bay Packers? It's a long shot. Instead, consider it more of an NFL Draft preview.

Today's future Packer...

Michigan State inside linebacker Greg Jones

One week after stopping the power running game of the Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan State now has the no less enviable task of stopping or containing Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson in one of the day's best match-ups.

The two undefeateds square off for in-state bragging rights in a game that has been won by Michigan State the past two years.

Jones will play a large part in trying to minimize the damage of Robinson, a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender. A threat on both the zone-read option and to scramble, Robinson already has over 900 yards on the ground through just five games.

The middle linebacker said earlier this week that it's important to corner Robinson or give him tight spaces in which to run, which is exactly correct. And that will fall largely on the shoulders of Jones and fellow outstanding linebacker Eric Gordon.

Robinson is at his most dangerous in the open field where he has the ability to pull away from defenders thanks to his long stride.

The Spartans will most likely will rely on Jones to meet Robinson near the line of scrimmage when he won't have had time to build up a head of steam yet.

Thankfully for the Spartans, Jones is cat-like quick and elusive and finds away to either shed or slip around blockers to make tackles.

Last year's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (media), Jones was also voted a first-team All-American. If there's any knock on him, it's his size. Standing 6-1 and listed anywhere between 228 and 240, he probably falls somewhere between that range.

While that isn't huge, the Packers have shown they don't ask much in terms of size from their inside linebackers. Nick Barnett and Desmond Bishop are 6-2, A.J. Hawk is a similar 6-1 and newly signed Maurice Simpkins is only 6-0. And with a little time in an NFL weight room, there's reason to believe Jones can put on slightly more weight, although he doesn't need to add much.

Jones was reportedly given a third-round grade from the NFL last year, but he may very well improve upon that this season. Listed by some as a late-first rounder, Jones could be legitimate target by the Packers in next year's Draft.

A big impact on the inside linebacker position is the contract situation of A.J. Hawk who's scheduled to make $10 million next season. There's almost no way the Packers will pay that money and while Hawk may agree to restructure his contract, the team may just decide to cut him.

Also a free agent after this season is Desmond Bishop who may very well decide to test the market and find a job where he's surefire starter.

There's also the injury situation to consider with Nick Barnett and Brandon Chillar although neither of their injuries will probably affect their long term prospects to play the game.

Chances are the inside linebackers will undergo a facelift of some sorts next season, which makes it worthwhile to keep on eye on Jones.

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Comments (2)

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Brett C's picture

October 09, 2010 at 08:28 am

Good stuff Brian, I love Jones as a player just not sure how well he'd fit in a 3-4 RIGHT NOW. Like you said, he definately needs to add some bulk to his frame bc he's only around 230 lbs last time I checked. Crazy athlete though so I would love to see our staff mold him into a stud in the middle.

I definately see a need at ILB, and hope like Bishop comes to play in Barnett's potential absence. Bishop should be playing inspired football and I would love to see him excel, God knows the kid wants it. Unless Hawk explodes over the last 3/4 of the season, which isn't out of the question, he probably won't be coming back. Can't wait to see how Bishop responds after finally getting his chance.

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Tim's picture

October 09, 2010 at 08:50 pm

Thanks for the draft reports - keep 'em coming! One area I'd love to see covered more is the o-line. A lot is made of our depth this year, but things look more sketchy when looking at the future.
Colledge and Spitz are free agents, Clifton and Tauscher are old, and Wells isn't old but he's approaching it (plus he's a free agent in only one more year anyway). The only long-term starters on the team appear to be Bulaga, Sitton, and Lang, so picking up another stud via the draft seems like a necessity.

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