Julio Jones' foot surgery and draft stock speculation, continued

Speculation about his draft status started immediately when it was revealed last night that Alabama WR Julio Jones will have surgery on a fractured foot. Most think Jones' draft stock is probably fine. After all, he ran through a pretty impressive workout with the fractured foot and has hours and hours of game tape to confirm he's not just a Combine wunderkid. 

A post today at Pro Football Weekly is the latest to echo the sentiment that Jones' draft stock will be fine...maybe.

He should be recovered from the injury by draft-time and PFW draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki doesn't see this affecting his stock in the slightest. The only possible concern is this is another injury for Jones, who may have durability concerns at the next level, especially considering his physical style of play.

In a conversation I had with Evan Silva from Pro Football Talk and Rotoworld, Silva makes the point that Crabtree's foot fracture caused a small slide in his draft stock. He brought up another example too that might give teams pause: Demaryius Thomas. 

The Josh McDaniels-led Denver Broncos made Thomas the 22nd overall pick in last year's draft, not too long after he had surgery to fix a fractured foot, and battled foot troubles throughout the season. Might that give teams pause? It could very well. Might it give the Rams and McDaniels pause, after having dealt with a surplus of injured receivers recently? Maybe. 

Medical tests administered by teams between now and the draft will be crucial to Jones draft position.