The voice of the mothership, Geoff Hobson, recently caught up with Jerry Jones. No, not the Cowboy's owner, but the owner of a pharmacy in Mariemont, a suburb of Cincinnati, and the creator of the drugstore list. If you're confused, no, the drugstore list is not a list of medicine needed to cure the common cold. The drugstore list is the name of one of the most trusted mock drafts every year since the days of Paul Brown. Jones, who does this as a hobby more than he does for the money, has consistently come out with mock draft after mock draft, most of which are more accurate than any others around.
Jones started the drugstore list as a hobby with some friends. Eventually, however, a Cincinnati Enquirer reporter got wind of it's yearly accuracy and did a story on it. Soon after, Jones' list was used in a story written by The New York Times NFL writer, Bill Wallace. That launched his list from something he did as a hobby to something he did as a career. He sat next to Paul Brown during draft days. He was invited into NFL war rooms. In the end, Jones was able to send three children through college on the success of his lists.
Said WLW host Lance McAlister of Jones:
"I can ask Jerry a question, get up, go get a drink, and come back," says McAlister, who has hosted him several times down through the years during draft season. "The thing about Jerry is that he has absolutely no ego. He does it as a hobby. He does it because he loves it. With some other people, you get the sense that they're trying to sell you something. Never with Jerry. And you know he doesn't have an agenda for schools, players or teams, anything like that."
Now Jones is retired and living in Georgia. He has recently had some cancer removed from both lungs. But, that doesn't mean that he isn't just as busy as he was in the past. He records games on Saturdays in the fall and he's almost ready to publish the first edition of his 35th drugstore list.
As for the Bengals in the upcoming draft, Jones is worried about the quarterback position but that doesn't mean he thinks the Bengals draft Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert in the first round. He's sticking with Georgia's A.J. Green, at least for right now.
"I'm an A.J. Green guy at No. 4 and go get the quarterback later. I've seen a lot of A.J. Green games down here at Georgia and I think he's worthy of a top five guy. He's Calvin Johnson. You can always get receivers, but not a guy like this."
And just in case you doubt his accuracy or his ability to pick the right players for the right teams, there's always a list of testimonials you can read on the Drugstore List's website.
"Jerry Jones was "into" the NFL draft before it was "cool" to be into it. I would estimate that he has more years of preparation on the draft process than anyone around. If you're looking for experienced prognostication, The Drugstore List is the place you'll find it." - DICK LE BEAU, Defensive Coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers, former NFL Head Coach, NFL vet