It’s easy for fans to lose track of players once they leave their favorite organization. After faithfully watching a player for 16-18 weeks a year and for multiple years, a player goes to another squad via free agency or trade and a fan is left with the memory of who that guy was in the uniform they cheer for.
Depending on which team they go to, that player might only get seen in one or two games a season, if that if they switch conferences. That was the case for former Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones, who Dallas decided not to pay big money for and he departed to the Miami Dolphins in 2020.
The Dolphins defense ascended with Jones, going from dead last in defensive DVOA (a Football Outsiders metric that measures performance with opponent strength and game situation in mind) in 2019, up to No. 11 in 2020. More to the point, their passing DVOA went from 32nd to No. 6. Most Cowboys fans (including this writer) figured that adding Jones to the equation was the determining factor, because, well, Cowboys fans don’t really watch Miami play very often.
That apparently wasn’t the case. In fact, Football Outsiders believes that Jones was the worst starting corner in the league in 2020. In their 2020 All Keep Chopping Woods team (a horrible name, but stick with us) they identified Jones and Dan Bailey — two former Cowboys —as the worst consistent starters at their respective positions.
Ouch.