(how much did the Combine workout play into your consideration of Matt Jones?) "The biggest part of his Combine workout was probably just a 40, of how fast he was. We already knew he was an outstanding athlete. The thing about him is that he's been a great athlete since high school. He's a great player in both basketball and football. He was a great player in the SEC. Started as a freshman at Arkansas and also played on the basketball team as a freshman. When he came to the Senior Bowl as a receiver and we got an opportunity to see him work as a receiver, we were surprised by his ability to catch and make plays. We knew he was fast from watching him in the SEC. We didn't know he was 4.3. Putting all that together and then once we observed that, sending our coaches down to Arkansas and working him out as a receiver, allowing him to work and do all the things that we would have him dohere, allowing somebody to create some restrictions for him, see if he could get in and out of his breaks, and he did all of those things. He caught every ball. Getting an opportunity to see him in the Senior Bowl when they pressed him, he was able to beat the press. Having him be contested down there and having to win jump balls, we got an opportunity to see him do all of those things and that's what convinced us that this great athlete could make plays in this league."
(what do you envision Jones being able to do for your offense?) "We envision him being able to make plays, being a big fast guy that could create some mismatches."
(how much did the Senior Bowl help his chances to get drafted at this pick?) "This was the one time we had an opportunity to see him work as a wide receiver against the top players in the draft. We had an opportunity to see him work against himself. That made a big difference."
(did you work out Jones as a punt returner here?) "We didn't actually work him out as a punt returner. He brought his punter to the workout (at Arkansas) to show that he could catch punts and he could, but we didn't work him out as a punt returner, but he can catch."
(did you work out Jones any other time than the Pro Day?) "No. We went down during the Pro Day. Our coaches went down and worked him out during the Pro Day. We saw everything we needed to see that day, between that day and his work at the Combine and the Senior Bowl."
(did Jones come to Jacksonville for a workout?) "No, we had visits with him at the Senior Bowl and we had visits with him at the Combine. With the character and the person, we feel we had enough information on the person."
(when did the NFL take notice of Matt Jones?) "The league was always aware that Matt Jones was a playmaking athlete at Arkansas. He's won a lot of games. He's been in several overtimes. I think the two longest overtime games in history, he won them. So, the league was aware of him, it was just where would he play? Coming into the Senior Bowl, there was tight end, there was wide receiver, and getting an opportunity to see him at the Senior Bowl, I think is when people realized it could be a reality that this guy had big time playmaking ability."
(did you begin your day targeting Matt Jones at this pick despite the other players that fell to you?) "At the beginning of the day, he was one of the 21 (players). When the pick came, he was the highest rated guy on our board and we selected the highest rated guy on our board at the time."
(how many other players were left on your board at this pick?) "Nobody was ahead of him."
(did Philadelphia talk to you about trading up?) "We received some calls from some teams interested in him, but we decided to stay and select Matt Jones."
(was Philadelphia one of the teams?) "I'm not going to reveal who called. We try to keep that to ourselves sometimes."
(how would you describe Jones' personality?) "He's a laid back type of guy and nothing really seems to excite him. Then when the game starts, he's an unbelievable competitor. When the game has been on the line, he's been able to make plays to win a lot of big games."
(what was the deciding factor that the quarterback position wasn't the best suited for Jones?) "Most teams felt he didn't have an NFL type arm. He can throw. He was effective throwing the ball at Arkansas, but to make all the throws on a consistent basis in this league, most NFL people felt he was not that type of quarterback at this time."
(did he have any injury problems while playing at Arkansas?) "He's played most of the time at Arkansas."
(would you describe this pick as risky or representing no risk?) "I see it as a guy that runs 4.3, 6.6, 242-pounds, has dominated high school, dominated college. He showed us in the Senior Bowl he was effective there, that he can make plays. I see him as a playmaker."
(on being said that it's risky picking a player for a position that the player has not played before) "When you see a playmaker, you just have to try to go with it. Whoever we've taken, if we've taken the next guy, people are going to criticize that pick, so we might as well take the criticism with a 4.39, 6'6", 242 (pounds) guy that has dominated play wherever he's been."
(on taking a wide receiver at the first pick two years in a row) "We're just trying to take the best player and each year it's been the best player."
(do you eventually see Jones as a number one receiver?) "We see this guy as a playmaker and we think he's capable of making some plays. We think he can create some mismatches. When you break the huddle in the NFL, the defense, your linemen, like to know who's in the game. They like to know how quick they can get the extra guy in the game. With him at some point we may be able to create some mismatches."
(will he line up at Z or X?) "We'll let the coaches decided where they want to line him up at."