There have been few, if any, defensive players in recent Georgia history who were quite like Jarvis Jones.
When Jones was on the field — and he hardly left it during his two seasons with the Bulldogs — he was the most feared pass rusher in the SEC. Over those two years, he racked up sack after sack, ending his career with an incredible 28. He was able to parlay that dominance into a slot in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft, when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him 17th overall.
Once he got into the league, however, that incredible talent for getting after the quarterback has been seldom seen. Injuries have played a role, to be sure, but even when Jones has been on the field he just hasn’t been as effective as everyone hoped when he was taking over games in college, as he did most memorably at Missouri in the 2012 “Grown Man Football” game Georgia won in Columbia.
Perhaps a change of scenery will help him turn things around, however. According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, that’s precisely the plan for Jones, as he has signed with the Arizona Cardinals:
Though the Cardinals are stacked with talent on defense, including several former SEC stars, Jones should have every opportunity to carve out a spot as an effective third-down pass rusher, at the very least. Now it’s just a matter of making the most of that opportunity.
