Tag: Benito Jones

Lions vs Vikings: Best and Worst PFF grades from Week 3

Here are the Detroit Lions best and worst PFF performers for this Week 3 game against the Minnesota Vikings.

It is never easy losing against your division opponent, but what happened for the Detroit Lions at the end makes it hurt that much more, losing their second game against the Minnesota Vikings, 28-24.

The Lions looked to be in control, but after some heavily questionable playcalling, ill-timed injuries, and miscommunication, they felt that win slip through their fingers. It has been documented enough that Coach Dan Campbell wishes he would’ve made a different call at the end, so we don’t need to beat a dead horse while it’s down. The Lions will look to redeem themselves next week against the Seattle Seahawks in hopes they can rebound from this devastation.

Most of this week’s PFF grades fall right in line with the eye test, good and bad. So we will go ahead and highlight the best and the worst PFF performers for the Lions for Week 3 against the Vikings.

Lions vs Commanders: Best and worst PFF grades from Week 2

Here are this week’s best and worst PFF Week 2 performers for the Detroit Lions against the Washington Commanders.

The Detroit Lions secured their first victory of the season against the Washington Commanders with the help of impressive performances in every facet of the field. The grit and fight that the players showed were nothing short of inspirational.

Amon-Ra St. Brown put on a clinic on offense setting NFL records left and right, turning in the Lions top playmaker. Hutchinson secured his first three sacks of his short NFL career so far, while Rodriguez continues to impress for a sixth-round rookie. The coaches are designing and scheming to allow their players to succeed, especially when injuries wreaked havoc on certain areas. Still, they overcame as a team and walked away as the victors.

Here are this week’s best and worst PFF performers for the Lions in Week 2.

Lions vs Eagle: Best and worst PFF grades for Week 1

The Detroit Lions best and worst PFF performers in their Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Surely it wasn’t the start the Detroit Lions were hoping for in their Week 1 home opener. The Lions fought their way back, making it a close contest, but in the end, early mistakes and slow starts led to the downfall against the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.

The offense started very well, scoring on their first drive, but afterward, it came to a screeching halt with the next three drives resulting in three-and-outs and, as a result, gassing the defense as they were having troubles with their own against Jalen Hurts. Afterward, the offense did find their stride, especially through the running game, which had been working throughout the day, and the defense powered through, giving the Lions a shot, but it just wasn’t enough.

In years past, the Lions would’ve called it quits and just let the Eagles continue their onslaught. Not this time. This Detroit squad showed plenty of fight and a lot of grit, which has been the Lions mantra since Dan Campbell took over. Teams are still finding their footing at the beginning of the season, and as long as they clean up the mistakes, the Lions could fight a way to turn out wins.

Here are this week’s best and worst PFF performers for the Lions against the Eagles.

Benito Jones: What the Lions are getting in their new DT

Breaking down what the Detroit Lions are getting in new DT Benito Jones, claimed off waivers from the Miami Dolphins

There is a new addition to the defensive line in Detroit. The Lions claimed DT Benito Jones off of waivers from the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday, a day after he was part of the wave of roster cutdowns across the NFL.

Jones is the Lions’ only waiver claim. The 24-year-old has been with the Miami Dolphins for the last two seasons, primarily on the active roster as a rookie in 2020 and then exclusively on the practice squad in 2021.

What are the Lions getting in Jones?

Jones is a large man at 6-foot-1 and a listed 329 pounds by the Dolphins. He played collegiately at Ole Miss at a listed 316 pounds and that appeared to be more in line with his appearance this preseason in Miami.

Despite the girth, Jones is a gap-shooting type of lineman and not an interior anchor-type of nose tackle. He has a nice initial punch when attacking, using his leverage and quickness to get up into the pads of the blocker. Jones showed a nice understanding of how to follow up the initial move, too. He can rip, spin or swim effectively around a single blocker.

He ran into issues when asked to two-gap, being responsible more as an absorber of blocks than someone trying to shed them. He plays lighter than his size would suggest and it shows in run defense and against more physical interior OL play.

If that sounds familiar, it should. The Lions have themselves a type at nose tackle, and Jones is a similar style of NT to Alim McNeill. Jones is a more natural fit as a direct backup to McNeill, who has been seeing more reps as the 3-tech in Aaron Glenn’s 4-man front later in the preseason and training camp. There is potential for the duo to play together, but expect Jones to be McNeill’s backup and rotate in a mix that also includes rookie Demetrius Taylor. Isaiah Buggs is more of a run-stuffing type and not a real threat to infiltrate the opposing backfield on his own.

For some good clips of Jones in action with the Dolphins, check out this Twitter thread from Brett Whitefield of Fantasy Points Data:

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Lions claim former Dolphins DT Benito Jones

Miami may have tried to sneak him onto the practice squad.

After all of the roster moves that the Miami Dolphins had made this week, a number of players were available to be claimed by other teams due to their lack of service time.

While there were many players who were successfully claimed, none by the Dolphins, Miami did have one player that they waived find a new home, as the Detroit Lions claimed defensive tackle Benito Jones.

Jone was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dolphins following the 2020 draft. He spent most of the last two seasons on Miami’s practice squad, but he performed well this preseason in a battle for a depth spot on the interior of their defensive line.

It’s unclear whether or not the Dolphins would’ve tried to bring him back on the practice squad if he had gone unclaimed, but now he will get a chance on an active roster for Dan Campbell’s team.

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Lions claim DT Benito Jones off waivers

Jones is in his third NFL season from Ole Miss and joins Detroit after being waived by Miami

The Detroit Lions added some beef to the defensive front on Wednesday. The Lions claimed defensive tackle Benito Jones off waivers from the Miami Dolphins.

It was the only waiver claim made by the Lions, who hold the No. 2 slot in the wire order.

Jones is entering his third NFL season. He joined the Dolphins in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss. The 329-pound Jones played in six games as a rookie in Miami, notching one tackle in 48 total snaps. He spent the 2021 season on the Dolphins’ practice squad. The Dolphins waived Jones in the roster cutdowns on Tuesday.

The Lions have yet to announce the corollary roster move to create a spot for Jones.

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Dolphins release DL Benito Jones

Miami cuts their last defensive player.

The Miami Dolphins are near the end of their roster cuts, as the deadline nears at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Dolphins announced that they released defensive lineman Benito Jones. Jones signed with Miami as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 draft, and he spent part of his rookie year on the practice squad and part on the active roster and then spent all of 2021 on the practice squad.

In a preseason that he needed to really show out to make the team, Jones recorded seven total tackles, two for a loss, but with all of the talented players ahead of him, it was too much to overcome.

Be sure to keep up with all of Miami’s roster moves via the cutdown tracker.

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Dolphins CB and DL ratings in Madden NFL 23

Fans are not going to be happy.

With the end of another NFL offseason insight, football fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the newest installment of the Madden video game series, Madden 23.

After the release of wide receiver/tight end ratings on Monday, linebacker/defensive end ratings on Tuesday and running back and safety ratings on Wednesday, EA Sports, the publishers of the game, released defensive line and cornerback ratings on Thursday. While these may be some of the team’s best position groups that the Dolphins have, the grades were a bit underwhelming for their top players.

Here’s a look at most of Miami’s defensive line and cornerback ratings for launch and how they compare to other players at the same position:

  • Xavien Howard – 89 overall (t-No. 10 CB)
  • Byron Jones – 87 overall (t-No. 13 CB)
  • Christian Wilkins – 78 overall (t-No. 17 RE)
  • Nik Needham – 75 overall (t-No. 74 CB)
  • Zach Sieler – 73 overall (t-No. 34 LE)
  • Keion Crossen – 72 overall (t-No. 105 CB)
  • Noah Igbinoghene – 72 overall (t-No. 105 CB)
  • John Jenkins – 71 overall (t-No. 46 DT)
  • Raekwon Davis – 71 overall (t-No. 46 DT)
  • Adm Butler – 69 overall (t-No. 58 DT)
  • Trill Williams – 62 overall (t-No. 245 CB)
  • Elijah Campbell – 60 overall (t-No. 269 CB)
  • Benito Jones – 59 overall (t-No. 128 DT)

Howard and Wilkins’ ratings are unexplainably low. There’s no way someone could look around the league and find that many players at the position better than those two.

The same could be said for Sieler, but everyone knows he doesn’t get the respect he deserves, so it’s expected.

EA Sports has some work to do.

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2022 Dolphins position preview: Breaking down DLs ahead of camp

There probably won’t be too many changes this year.

Entering the first training camp under head coach Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins don’t have Brian Flores to rely on for their defense.

Flores, with his defensive background, was given a ton of credit for the team’s success defensively, but without him, they’ll turn to defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, who is returning despite the change at head coach. Most of the same players on defense are also returning for 2022 and are ready to compete for their roles.

We’ve talked about quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and the offensive line, but now, we’re jumping over to the other side of the ball and breaking down the defensive lineman.

Dolphins re-sign DT Benito Jones

He’s spent the last two seasons with Miami.

The Miami Dolphins have done a lot of work to keep most of their defensive players from 2021 on the roster for the 2022 season.

On Tuesday, the organization announced that they re-signed defensive tackle Benito Jones. Jones spent all of the 2021 season on Miami’s practice squad.

The former Ole Miss Rebel was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020 by the Dolphins. In his first season, he bounced between the practice squad and the active roster. Jones appeared in six games in his rookie season, recording two total tackles, one of which was for a loss.

Now, heading into his third professional season, Jones will likely be fighting for one of those depth spots again.

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