Tag: Byron Jones

Reviewing the NFL draft’s No. 27 pick from the last decade

The Baltimore Ravens are set to pick 27th in the 2021 NFL draft. There has been a lot of great players selected there over the last decade.

With an unusual offseason that won’t have the NFL Scouting Combine due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2021 NFL draft might be sneaking up on everyone. Now just two months away, the Baltimore Ravens are likely knee-deep in their preparations; scouting prospects to move them up and down their draft board.

The Ravens’ first pick is at No. 27 in the first round, which has historically been a pretty good draft spot. While the exact pick number has no bearing on what a player will do once in the league, quite a few special players have been taken at the 27th spot, including one of Baltimore’s own. Of the 11 players selected at No. 27 from 2010-2020, they’ve earned a combined 11 Pro Bowl nominations and four first-team All-Pro nominations.

Instead of looking forward to which prospects might make the most sense for Baltimore, let’s take a look back at what type of player has typically been taken over the last decade.

Byron Jones named most disappointing 2020 CB by Football Outsiders

Byron Jones named most disappointing 2020 CB by Football Outsiders

Did Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones have a season that lived up to the free agent contract he signed in 2020? No, but then again given that the Dolphins paid him out a record-setting contract to bring his services to South Florida, almost no level of play was going to be able to live up to those expectations. Jones was not even the best cornerback on his own team — a mantle that was also doomed to never be his unless he managed to pull in double digit interceptions in 2020.

For the record, Jones came to the Dolphins with two career interceptions in five seasons in Dallas. And finished his first season in Miami with two interceptions this year alone — so relative to his body of work previously, Jones did well enough in that regard.

But he didn’t play well enough to avoid being named the most disappointing starter in the NFL at cornerback by Football Outsiders this offseason: Jones was named to the annual “All-Keep Choppin’ Wood” team.

What exactly is that?

Football Outsiders’ Andrew Potter defines it as follows:

“The All-Keep Choppin’ Wood select names the players who made the least of their ample opportunities, who did the most to hurt their franchises either on or off the field (sometimes both!). Whether by underperforming a massive contract or a high draft pick, blowing games directly by their mistakes, or simply being very bad, very consistently, there are many ways to become immortalized as a member of one of these select groups.”

Jones makes the list along with Vernon Hargreaves of Houston at the corner position. Here’s their justification:

“Byron Jones signed a five-year contract with Miami this offseason, making him the fifth-highest paid cornerback in football. It is safe to say that, so far, that has not worked out as well as the Dolphins might have hoped. Jones allowed 10.6 yards per target and 17.6 yards per completion, both worst among starting cornerbacks in 2020. His two interceptions are misleading; he set a career low with just three pass breakups and 42 tackles and tied his career high with 10 broken and missed tackles, and his 82.5% deserved catch percentage was the highest SIS has recorded for him as well. Now, to be fair, some of those high average numbers come from the fact that opposing quarterbacks were more likely to challenge Xavien Howard or Eric Rowe; Jones had just 73 targets per Sportradar. But when he was targeted, Jones gave up far too much for someone of his caliber and paycheck. I’d expect him to bounce back next season, but those are not numbers you want to see out of your $82.5-million man.”— Football Outsiders

This is a hard sell for us. The impact Jones had on the field was undeniable relative to the other alternatives during his early season absence against Buffalo, Jacksonville and Seattle early in the year. But then again, this is the level of expectation that will come with an $82.5M price tag.

On Inauguration Day, Cowboys executive orders, promise made to fans ring hollow

As a new President gets sworn in, the Dallas Cowboys can learn from fulfilling their promises to the fans of Cowboys Nation.

It’s a big day in the United States of America as a new President takes office. No matter which side one resides on politically, all of Cowboys Nation agrees the 61st version of the franchise needs to bring change. It’s been 25 long years since Dallas has seen itself in a Conference Championship game, which means 25 years of frustration.

There won’t be any amendment at the top of the organization, where Jerry and Stephen Jones remain for future terms, but here’s what they can do if they want to fulfill their promises to the fans of Cowboys Nation.

It’s the state of the union for the Dallas Cowboys as they fight to get back some respect and campaign for their sixth Super Bowl.

Jerry Jones would like to open by letting us know he’s in it to win it. He’s been telling the fans this for years, but when he brags about the Cowboys leading the league in attendance during a pandemic, it doesn’t inspire confidence that he cares more about winning games than making money.

However, Jones continues to promise that he’s all about trying to win Super Bowls and that’s the most important thing on his mind.

If Jones is for the people he represents in the fan base, the owner might need to step in and take some control back from his son Stephen Jones. Jerry might say every decision starts and ends with him as the President, but it appears to be that (Executive) Vice President Stephen is making more of the determinations on contracts and in player acquisition recently.

It hasn’t worked out under Stephen’s regime.

The Cowboys used to spend every dollar they could to bring in top tier talent, but that hasn’t been the case since Stephen’s become more involved in the organization. The salary cap is in place, but there are ways to work around bringing the best players possible inside those cap restraints, the Cowboys just haven’t been as aggressive in acquiring the best players.

Instead, the team has been more intent on signing their own players instead of adding higher priced free agents. That has become one of the staples from Stephen’s term.

Except when he hasn’t followed his own executive orders.

Letting stud CB Byron Jones go and failing to secure QB Dak Prescott on a long-term deal before he got ridiculously expensive have been massive failures from Stephen’s time in office. The Cowboys need to fulfill their promise of making Prescott the quarterback of the team for a long time. It’s something the President and VP of the Cowboys continue to say, but still haven’t delivered on.

Without a quarterback, the team doesn’t stand a chance. The Cowboys know what they have in Prescott and don’t need to go looking for another candidate to lead the team. Two years of stalling has cost the team money that could’ve been spent elsewhere, especially on the defense budget. It’s time to get the long-term deal done this time around, starting with at least four more years with Prescott.

The Cowboys also continue to pledge they’ll look at every position in terms of getting better each offseason. That hasn’t been the case as the team has neglected safety for far too long and they’ve been resistant to change. Even when they do address the position, it’s with band aids that don’t work and it took the team forever to elect a new starter.

Donovan Wilson made an immediate impact on the defense but it took too long for the team to see him as an option. With new Ministry of Defense coordinator Dan Quinn, who believes a policy of dominant defenses includes great safety play, the Cowboys might finally be addressing the safety issue.

Even with Wilson, the Cowboys need to address safety and continue to build a stronger secondary. Getting better on the backend of the defense is essential for the unit to be successful. That should be something they learned after the previous regime, which had one of the worst defenses in franchise history.

If the Cowboys are to going to be better in the future and put to rest a quarter decade of futility, they need to fulfill the promises they’ve been selling to the fans. We’ll see if America’s Team can live up to their oaths starting in 2021.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.

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Watch: Dolphins CB Byron Jones with the toe-drag swag pick of Josh Allen

Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones got the Dolphins off to a good start with an amazing pick of Bills QB Josh Allen.

As the 12-3 Bills are playing for the two-seed in the AFC, they decided to put their starters on the field against the Dolphins. The problem with that is that the Dolphins have enjoyed quite the defensive turnaround this season.

Per Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, Miami came into this game in line to become the first team in at least the last 20 years to finish first in scoring defense (they were dead last in 2019), first in takeaways with 27, and first in third-down defense. They’re also fifth in red zone defense. They were also the only team to force a turnover in every game this season, a streak that continued with Byron Jones’ pick of Allen with 10:48 left in the first quarter.

Allen had all the time in the world on the quick pass to receiver Gabe Davis, but Jones did a brilliant job of not only jumping the route, but keeping both feet in-bounds for the interception. The officiating crew originally called it an out of bounds incompletion, but overturned it upon review.

The feisty 10-5 Dolphins will make the playoffs if they beat the Bills, or if the Ravens, Browns, or Colts lose, or if the Dolphins tie and the Ravens, Browns, or Colts tie, or if the Dolphins tie and the Titans lose.

A very good start. The Bills have already clinched the AFC East, and can clinch the two-seed behind the Chiefs with a win, or a Steelers loss to the Browns, or a tie plus a Steelers tie.

Byron Jones dishes on what makes Dolphins defense mesh

Byron Jones dishes on what makes Dolphins defense mesh

The Miami Dolphins are on the cusp of something completely unprecedented. With one game left to play, the Dolphins’ defense is tops in the league in points allowed per game — leading the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams by a half a point per game or less. It’s going to come right down to the wire for who the NFL’s top scoring defense is in 2020 — but if it is Miami, it will mean the Dolphins have gone from worst to first in scoring defense in just one offseason.

That’s an incredible feat and a testament to the investments made into the group by Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores. Additionally, defensive coordinator Josh Boyer has been excellent this season for Miami in helping to pull everything together.

But from the inside point of view, what are some of the reasons why this defense works so well together? One of Miami’s high-priced free agents additions of 2020, cornerback Byron Jones, spoke with NFL Network’s ‘Good Morning Football’ earlier this week and shared his perspective.

“When you look at our defense, I’d say about 60 to 70 percent of the guys on our defense are new. They’re new to the Miami Dolphins this year. And I think a lot of credit goes to the front office and the coaches in terms of what players and types of players they’re looking for and the type of character,” said Jones.

“Like I said, a lot of us didn’t play together last year. A lot of us were on different teams but when you have the right group of guys come in and really take this seriously and understand the challenge ahead people gel pretty quickly.”

All of that inexperience together showed up early on with the Dolphins allowing 217 rushing yards in a Week 1 loss to New England and 31 points in two of the next three weeks in losses to Buffalo and Seattle. In the 11 games since, the Dolphins are 9-2 and allowing just 16.9 points per game over those 11 games — and that includes 33 conceded to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14. Perhaps that is the most exciting dynamic of all for the Dolphins; they’re doing all of this with no annual continuity; so imagine what this group will look like together in Year 2 of all the same starters together.

Watch: Dolphins’ Byron Jones picks off Patrick Mahomes

Byron Jones picked off Patrick Mahomes for the Dolphins

Patrick Mahomes can be intercepted by a team other than the Las Vegas Raiders.

The great Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback was picked off by Byron Jones of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The pass had been tipped before winding up in the hands of the Miami DB.

Jones fumbled at the end of the return but Miami recovered.

It was Mahomes third pick of the season, the first two came against the Raiders.

The Dolphins have forced a turnover in 19 straight games, longest current streak in the NFL.

 

Watch: Byron Jones intercepts Patrick Mahomes off the deflection

The Miami Dolphins generated an early turnover in their showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs

One of the biggest games of the week just kicked off, as the 8-4 Miami Dolphins are hosting the 11-1 Kansas City Chiefs. The Dolphins, under the guidance of head coach Brian Flores and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, might have the ability to slow down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense.

They delivered with an early turnover thanks to a deflection and Byron Jones:

The Chiefs are extremely creative in how they implement the screen game, as previously broken down on Touchdown Wire. On this play, Mahomes first shows a bubble screen to the left, and then a running back swing pass to the right, before looking to the middle of the field and a potential screen pass to tight end Travis Kelce. However, Andrew Van Ginkel reads the play and deflects the pass, and Jones comes down with the interception and returns it to midfield.

As Tony Romo notes, if you are going to beat Kansas City, you need to “catch a break.” The Dolphins have done that early.

 

Byron Jones named Dolphins’ nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year

Byron Jones named Dolphins’ nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year

The NFL has announced the 32 nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, and the Miami Dolphins’ representative is a newcomer to South Florida but no stranger to the gridiron or to making a difference — first year Miami Dolphin Byron Jones is this year’s nominee. Here’s the background on the award, as stated on the award’s overview page:

“The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field. The award was established in 1970. It was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton. Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community.”

Jones’ work on the Social Impact Committee is a primary catalyst to his representation on the list of nominees for 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year.

“My wish for the Social Impact Committee is to just make the small, incremental changes. Understanding what we want to get done isn’t going to happen overnight, so just slowly taking steps into leveling the playing field for education and just encouraging people to help and try to understand that you have a voice. You have power. But you have to organize and you have to believe in yourself,” said Jones when discussing his role in the Dolphins’ committee.

Three Miami Dolphins have won this award — starting with center Dwight Stephenson back in 1985, Dan Marino in 1998 and Jason Taylor in 2007. Given all of the time the Dolphins as a team have invested into the community over the past several seasons, it may be time for the Dolphins to add a fourth — they’ll certainly help any nominee offer a worthy resume for the distinguished award.

The award will be among those given out at the annual NFL Honors at the end of the 2020 season.

Cowboys nominate Jaylon Smith for Walter Payton Man of the Year honor

The linebacker will wear a special helmet decal marking the honor, recognizing his work empowering minority entrepreneurship initiatives.

Cowboys fans have had a love/hate relationship with linebacker Jaylon Smith in 2020, often making him the target of their frustrations with a defense that seems to often lack hustle and the poster boy for an organization that seems to overpay some players before they’ve proven their long-term worth.

Those criticisms deserve to be set aside for a day at least. Smith was honored by the league Thursday for his community service activities off the field when he was named the Cowboys’ nominee for the 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

Always one of the team’s most active participants in local community outreach efforts, Smith has personally spearheaded initiatives to encourage minority entrepreneurship. He founded the Minority Entrepreneurship Institute to help open doors for others to start businesses and succeed financially.

From the Cowboys official website:

“Smith has pledged $2.5 million over 10 years to spur MEI investments and is adding co-investors across the country who share in his beliefs. His hope is that minority entrepreneurs will be the game-changers who can make a changing economy come to life.”

“Jaylon exemplifies every quality that this award celebrates,” Cowboys executive vice president and chief brand officer Charlotte Jones Anderson said in a statement. “He has a light that he wants to share and shine on others that is rare. We are excited to see what more he can accomplish through his work with minority entrepreneurs and the many other endeavors that he supports.”

Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard, and Rico Dowdle were among the first Cowboys players who took to social media to congratulate their teammate.

A player from each team in the league was nominated; notables include Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, Seattle’s Russell Wilson, and Miami’s Byron Jones, the former Cowboys cornerback.

The nominations were announced on Good Morning Football.

Smith and the 31 other nominees will wear a special helmet decal for the rest of the season signifying the honor. All will see their work celebrated during the week leading up to Super Bowl LV and have a $40,000 donation made to the charity of their choosing. The award’s winner will be revealed during the NFL Honors event, with a $250,000 donation made. That winner will also wear a jersey patch for the remainder of his playing career.

Several Cowboys have won the NFL Man of the Year award: Roger Staubach in 1978, Troy Aikman in 1997, and Jason Witten in 2012. The award was re-named for Payton shortly after his death in 1999; the Bears running back had won it himself in 1977.

Nationwide, the award’s corporate sponsor, is encouraging fans to vote for their favorite nominee on Twitter by using the hashtag #WPMOYChallenge followed by the player’s last name. The player tagged most between December 10 and January 17 will receive a $25,000 contribution to their charity of choice; second- and third-place finishers will receive $10,000 and $5,000 donations, respectively.

Congratulations- and a celebratory swipe- to Jaylon Smith on being nominated for the NFL’s most prestigious accolade.

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Watch: Darrell Daniels ‘steals’ touchdown for Cardinals

How did Darrell Daniels rip the ball away from Byron Jones?

It looked like Kyler Murray had thrown an interception in the end zone as Byron Jones was in position to make the pick.

Darrell Daniels was having none of it and the Cardinals’ tight end resorted to some thievery and came down with the ball for a touchdown. After the PAT, the teams were tied at 27 in the third quarter.