Syracuse Defensive End Chandler Jones the Next Jason Pierre-Paul?

I’m sure this is not the first time it’s been suggested, and it might even be flat out ridiculous, but Chandler Jones has appeared on Scout’s Inc’s recent top 32 players for the 2012 NFL draft, checking in at 22nd on their list.

Jones missed some time due to injury this past season and that is cause for concern, but Scout’s Inc. notes his ability to rush the quarterback, long arms, athleticism, intangibles, and upside as the best qualities he has going forward, and that sounds an awful lot like a Jason Pierre-Paul draft scouting report.

He is listed right now at 6’5″ 265 pounds and finished this past season with 4.5 sacks in seven games. Pierre-Paul had 5.5 sacks in nearly twice as many games in his final season with South Florida.

Right now, Chandler Jones could be in line to get drafted in the first round based purely off of athleticism and upside, but he at least seems to have the intangible qualities to succeed at the NFL level for a while. He was a member of the AD Honor Roll in 2010 and has a really good athletic blood line.

I’m not saying that Jones will be as productive or dominant as Jason Pierre-Paul, but the measurables are very similar, as well as the fact that a lot of their draft projections are based purely off of athleticism and upside. If Jones has a really outstanding combine athletically and medically, he could be in line to be a first round pick in April.