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The New England Patriots began Day 3 of the 2022 NFL Draft with the selection of cornerback Jack Jones out of Arizona State.
Bill Belichick drafted cornerback Marcus Jones out of Houston to wrap up Day 2 and followed up by drafting J. Jones with the ensuing pick. Both corners are viewed as sticky and gritty, but undersized. J. Jones is 5-foot-11, 177 pounds and he carries a bit more height than M. Jones — who is 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds.
J. Jones, 24, was a five-star athlete out of high school and spent his first collegiate year at USC, leading the team with four interceptions. He was ruled academically ineligible in his second year and also was charged with commercial battery before going to Moorpark College, a JUCO. He then joined Arizona State and led the team in picks and passes deflected before getting suspended for violating team rules.
The biggest issues for Jones came off the field.
He finished strong in 2021 with Arizona State after recording 32 tackles, one sack, three forced fumbles, three interceptions and nine passes deflected. He’s an extremely gifted cornerback that has had speed bumps along the way due to off-field issues. J. Jones carries a similar path to J.C. Jackson, who dealt with serious trouble and ended up going undrafted.
NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein discussed J. Jones’ abilities and past troubles ahead of the draft.
A highly coveted recruit coming out of Long Beach Poly High School, Jones initially attended USC and started all 14 games in his sophomore season, leading the Trojans with four interceptions. But following that breakout season, Jones was ruled academically ineligible and then arrested for breaking into a restaurant after hours, eventually pleading guilty to a second-degree misdemeanor charge of commercial burglary. After spending a year in junior college, Jones enrolled at Arizona State.
Earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors in 2019 and 2021, Jones was limited to one game in 2020 due to a suspension for violating team rules. As a player, he’s a ball-hawking cornerback with playmaking instincts. Despite solid ball production, though, Jones also gave up a lot of touchdowns at the college level. His lack of size/strength should make technique a top priority, as his talent for finding the football won’t matter as much if he can’t get on the field. Jones could be a late Day 3 selection, but physical deficiencies are working against him.
To turn back to the positives and potential going forward — J. Jones is committed to improving and growing. His agent, Jamal Tooson, wrote a letter to all 32 NFL teams and discussed the ways in which J. Jones is going to proactively work on the off-field issues. Here’s an excerpt for Pro Football Focus’ column on J. Jones’ growth.
The letter also stated that Jones, who was suspended during the 2020 season for an altercation with a teammate but was permitted to return to the team in 2021, went on to enroll in anger management counseling in December 2021 and plans to continue seeking help for his mental health in the city in which he’s drafted.
“He will be taking full advantage of his NFL team’s internal support services and residing in close proximity to the team’s practice facility,” the letter concluded.
When it comes to his skills on the field, J. Jones is viewed as a steal.
Shrine Bowl director of football operations/player personnel on Patriots fourth-round pick Jack Jones. https://t.co/DgyrLrmveG
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 30, 2022
The Patriots will have smaller, quicker players to deal with in the division like Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs. Drafting and developing quicker players with similar skillsets as Jackson is becoming a trend in Foxborough.
We’re going to give the selection of J. Jones a C+ grade.
He can turn out to be a stud and develop both on and off the field — similar to Jackson. But, he does lack size and he’s an older player that will have to prove himself. As of now, J. Jones will be a project for the Patriots and trust will have to be built.
With time and effort, the Patriots may have J. Jones as one of their better players in the secondary.
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