Why 2023 football season will be pivotal for outside linebacker Marvin Jones Jr.

Coming out of the 2022 season, perhaps no player on the Georgia roster needed to have a strong offseason than outside linebacker Marvin Jones Jr.

The Bulldogs saw veterans Nolan Smith and Robert Beal depart for the NFL. Georgia brings back Chaz Chambliss and he’ll be a key part of the linebacker rotation for Georgia this year. But he does not offer the upside of being an every-down player like Jones does in theory. At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, he has the size to hold in the run game while possessing the athleticism to get after opposing quarterbacks.

Jones though has not had a chance to make many improvements this offseason after he needed to have shoulder surgery. The injury helps explain why Jones’ numbers were somewhat dulled in 2022. He played in 13 games but had only four tackles and 1.0 sack for the Bulldogs. That’s even with Smith missing most of the second half of the 2022 season with a torn pectoral injury.

Given Georgia was so thin at outside linebacker last season, Jones probably couldn’t have had the surgery when he arrived in Athens last summer. Jones had the surgery in January, shortly after the season came to an end. Barring a setback, he should be good to go to start fall camp.

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