Mississippi State Football: Chris Jones arrested, but NFL Draft stock won’t drop
Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive tackle Chris Jones was arrested for driving with a suspended license as his NFL Draft stock takes a hit.
Chris Jones is a borderline first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but the former Mississippi State defensive lineman could be waving goodbye to that prospect after he was arrested for driving on a suspended license.
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The arrest comes days after days after former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott was arrested on DUI charges as the top two Mississippi State football prospects in the draft raise questions about their character weeks before the draft begins on April 28.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, Jones was charged with speeding and driving with a suspended license. His license was suspended for failing to pay a speeding ticket from December 2015.
Jones, a former five-star recruit had a breakout season as a junior with 44 tackles, 7.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks and the 6-6, 310-pound tackle worked his way into the bottom of the first round mix in several mock drafts.
I don’t have Jones in my latest mock draft but think he’s a top-50 prospect. In the big picture, this isn’t the worst transgression in the world and probably won’t have too much of a say in where he is ultimately drafted.
If Jones had a number of red flags and legal hangups from the previous three years at Mississippi State then it’s more of a concern, but this is just a blip on the radar.
The biggest concern teams will have with Jones is getting him to play with more consistency.
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He flashes the type of things you want to see from a first round defensive tackle but he hasn’t been able to play with that same level for consistent stretches. He’s been more potential than production and whoever does draft him will have to have a defensive line coach willing to put in the work to get him to live up to his potential.