Every NFL team wants a playmaking safety who has been battled-tested by some of the best pass-catchers in college football. They also want an intelligent player who knows how to prepare for everything.
If your favorite team is looking for that player in the 2020 NFL draft, Texas safety Brandon Jones is the man for the job.
A versatile defender with attention to detail like no other, Jones recently spoke exclusively with Draft Wire about how he impressed teams at the NFL Scouting Combine without doing a single drill, how playing for the Longhorns prepared him for the jump to the pros, and what kind of impact he’ll make at the next level.
JM: What was your experience like at the NFL Scouting Combine?
BJ: It was an awesome experience. I have a lot of ex-teammates and friends that have gone through it before, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. It was crazy. Obviously, I wasn’t able to participate in the testing, and that was unfortunate. It was definitely mentally exhausting, and a little crazy at times. I got to meet with a lot of different coaches. It was a true blessing to be there. I’m thankful for the opportunity. It was a lot of fun.
JM: What was the injury that kept you from competing, and where are you in the recovery process?
BJ: I had my labrum repaired in my right shoulder. I’m eight weeks out right now. I’m still rehabbing and taking things day by day. I’m trying to do more and more every single day.
JM: I read something about you studying every single defensive play from all 32 teams this past season? Is that true?
BJ: I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to physically perform at the combine. I decided to spend my time building up my mental intangibles. I’m really big on trying to improve every aspect of my game whenever I can. Since I had surgery, I looked at it as an opportunity to basically improve my football I.Q. The initial plan was to study every single game from the 2019 season but I wanted to be able to put together a study binder by the combine.
Realistically, I was gonna run out of time if I tried to do every single game. It took me about six or seven hours a day for about eight weeks. I was able to watch four games from every single team. I watched every single defensive rep in those games. Since I narrowed it down to four games, I was able to really dive in deep and learn all of the defenses in the league.
JM: That’s incredible. I’ve never heard anything like that before. When a team found that out at the combine, how did they react? Did you bring the binder with you to the combine?
BJ: A lot of teams were super surprised. They thought it was awesome. They couldn’t believe that I was able to do that. Some of them questioned me on it, like did you really do this by yourself? (laughs). I did it all by myself. They were in disbelief, to be honest. I don’t blame them. I made one huge binder. I pulled it out and had over 100 pages in there. There was a lot of research and notes that went into it. If I was sitting on the other side, I probably wouldn’t have believed me either (laughs). I found a way to get it all done.
JM: That’s truly amazing and a great use of your time. Did you have a lot of formal or informal interviews out there?
BJ: You would speak to a team informally and then another team would tap you on the shoulder and ask if they could get a quick word with you. I probably met with every team informally because those meetings are super short and casual. Within the 3 days at the combine, I had about eight or nine formal interviews.
JM: Who were some of the teams that you met with formally?
BJ: I had formal interviews with the Bengals, Patriots, Bears, Vikings, Seahawks and Steelers. Those are the ones that come to mind right now. I can’t think of anyone else. The interviews went really well. You’re in a room with the entire coaching staff. You’re sitting right in front of the head coach. They pulled up some of my film, both good and bad plays. You just take it from there. They asked me questions about the coverage we played. They put some things up on the white board and asked me questions about the defense we ran at Texas.
They might take you through a coverage or a specific call. They would teach you some of the things they do within their defense. They wanna see if you can remember it. This is all happening so fast. It might last 20-25 minutes. It was a lot but it was a really cool experience.
JM: I know you’re not going to be working out for anybody right now as you continue to rehab the injury, but are you taking any private visits?
BJ: I’ve put all of that in my agent’s hands. We’ve just been going back and forth with the doctor. My pro day is on April 1st. We’re trying to realistically see what I’ll be able to do by then. I wanna do as much as I can while still being smart of course. I’ve put the ball in my agent’s court when it comes to scheduling private workouts or visits. He has all of my information.
JM: Who were some of the best players you went up against throughout your time at Texas?
BJ: It felt like we played against the best wide receivers in college football on a weekly basis. That’s the type of conference we play in and the type of offenses that we played against. The majority of those offenses were spread, air-raid, up-tempo, things of that nature. Tylan Wallace from Oklahoma State comes to mind. Jalen Reagor from TCU, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson from LSU, CeeDee Lamb from Oklahoma. We went up against some excellent competition. Denzel Mims out of Baylor. It felt like we played against a nationally recognized star wide receiver every single week. We really had to key in on what we were up against.
JM: What was the strangest question you were asked at the combine?
BJ: I didn’t really get any weird or strange questions. I can’t really recall anything that caught me off guard. Everything was pretty straight forward and self-explanatory. They all felt like a normal interview. They would ask a question about my injury and recovery process. We just talked about football really. I didn’t get anything weird.
JM: If you were going into battle tomorrow and could only bring one teammate with you, who would it be and why?
BJ: Just one? That’s such a tough question. Man, I don’t know to be honest. To make it easier on myself, I’m only gonna consider guys that are coming out in this 2020 draft class. There’s a bunch of underclassmen I would bring with me so I’m gonna eliminate them for my sake. Out of this draft class, I’d probably go with Devin Duvernay. Him and I have a really good friendship. We’ve known each other since high school. We played in the Under Armour game together. We’ve built a friendship from that point on. He’s had a great career.
If you’ve ever spoken to him, you know that he’s a man of few words. It might rub some people the wrong way because he really doesn’t say a lot (laughs). He’s definitely one of the hardest workers I’ve ever known though. You rarely see him drop a ball. His hands are insane. He’s very consistent. He’s obviously super fast. He’s one of the fastest college football players in the country. His overall work ethic is top notch.
JM: Is there a scheme that you’d prefer to play in at the next level?
BJ: I would just love to play in a defense that will utilize me to the best of my abilities. Wherever they need me to play, I’m gonna do it with a smile. I’m gonna make that position my home. During my senior year at Texas, whether it was due to injuries or because my coaches asked me to multi-task, I was put in a lot of different positions. I played free safety, I played in the slot at times, I played the “joker” in our dime package.
I moved around a lot. It really helped my game. It gave me a better understanding of where your help is at all times. It taught me what’s happening on the back-side. It was very beneficial to me. We ran a very complex defense at Texas. We ran every single coverage. I’m pretty well-rounded when it comes to being able to play multiple coverages. The best fit for me will be whoever takes a chance on me. Whatever position they need me to play, I’m gonna deliver positive results.
JM: What kind of player is Brandon Jones going to be at the next level?
BJ: An organization is gonna get a guy that’s loyal and competitive. I realize how important communication is. Relationships are everything. How you conduct yourself as a professional, everything you learn in football can correlate to your personal life as well. It’s all about life experiences and the things you go through. All of the teams that I’ve met with, I told them that I’m the hardest worker they’re gonna come across. I’m very competitive. It doesn’t matter if I’m starting on the defense or playing special teams, I’m gonna attack it with the same competitiveness. I’m gonna go out there and battle.
It’s funny, I think back to putting that binder together. I’ve really improved my knowledge of the game over the past few months. I know a lot more now than I did then. Having that tool has been an exceptional blessing. I can’t wait to work even harder at the next level. They’re gonna get a loyal competitor.
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