Tag: jaylon jones

Jaylon Jones was among Pro Football Focus’ most productive cornerbacks in the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 11 win over the Jets.

Overall, Jones seemed to be all over the field, which included making five total tackles. But in coverage, while Jones was targeted heavily–eight times–he allowed just four completions for a grand total of 36 yards–or 9.0 yards per catch.

Only one of those four receptions would go for a first down and he also came away with two forced incompletions. Aaron Rodgers’ passer rating when targeting him was just 62.5.

And keep in mind, most of Jones targets came matched up against Garrett Wilson, who has been one of the more productive receivers in football this season. According to PFF, Wilson caught just 2-of-6 targets with Jones in coverage for seven yards.

When Week 11 was all said and done, Jones’ PFF grade was the fourth best among all cornerbacks.

During the offseason, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard chose to stand pat at the cornerback position despite the ups and downs that this group experienced in 2023.

One of the main factors behind this decision was that Ballard wanted to give the young cornerbacks in that room the opportunity to develop, and to a degree, he was banking on that happening.

While Jones has still experienced some ups and downs, again, not uncommon for a young player and includes giving up some explosive completions, overall, Ballard’s decision to lean on Jones has worked out well.

In addition to Jones’ development, the emergence of Samuel Womack, who was claimed off waivers during roster cutdowns, and of course, the play of Kenny Moore, the cornerback position for the Colts has been more stable this season than I’m guessing most would have expected.

Veterans and rookies for the Indianapolis Colts will report for training camp on July 24th, with the first practice taking place on July 25th.

Between now and then I will be previewing the Colts’ 91-man roster with a look back at each player’s 2023 season, along with what’s ahead for 2024.

I’ll be going through the Colts’ roster alphabetically, so up next is cornerback Jaylon Jones. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.

2023 Season Review

Jones was one of the three cornerbacks selected by the Colts in 2023 and was the last one picked, being taking in the seventh round. However, with JuJu Brents dealing with injuries, and Darius Rush released during roster cutdowns, it was Jones who saw the most playing time.

Jones began his rookie season as a special teams contributor but was thrust into a starting role after Dallis Flowers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. As noted on the team site, Jones would play at least 60 percent of the defensive snaps over the Colts’ final 13 games.

“The biggest thing for me has been trying to stay consistent and disciplined,” said Jones late last season via Horseshoe Huddle. “If I’m doing those two things, adding that to my God-given abilities, great things will continue happening for me.”

In coverage, Jones allowed a completion rate of just 54 percent on 57 targets, and did well to eliminate big plays on completions he did surrender, allowing only 10.6 yards per catch with five pass breakups. In fact, Jones 0.72 yards per coverage snap was the fourth lowest by a rookie in the last 10 years, according to PFF.

Opposing quarterbacks had an above average passer rating of 106.6 when targeted and was penalized six times, but overall, he laid a strong foundation during his first NFL season.

“He had some up and down moments,” general manager Chris Ballard said, “but I thought he played really well for the most part.”

2024 Season Preview

Jones is again going to have to earn his playing time for this upcoming season. Brents appears to be locked into one of the starting boundary cornerback roles, but the spot opposite of him is up for grabs.

Competing for that starting spot will be Jones and Flowers. Based on what was reported during offseason programs, it sounds like Jones has the early leg up in that competition, taking most of the starting reps over Flowers. However, as we all know, a lot can change once training camp begins and the pads come on.

“I think all those guys, obviously, we drafted two young guys, but I think with Jaylon Jones, Dallis, and JuJu, they’re long, rangy guys that are physical when they get up and press,” said Shane Steichen during minicamp.

“They got good vision. I love those guys. It’s a good room. A good competition there. It’s going to be a good competition, obviously, in minicamp and OTAs, but going into training camp is going to be big for all those guys.”

Given the overall performance from the secondary last season, GM Chris Ballard could have fairly easily justified adding to the cornerback room this offseason. However, the fact that he didn’t speaks volumes about how the Colts feel about this group internally.

We often here about the Year 2 leap that many successful NFL players make. It is this time between their rookie and sophomore seasons that players frequently make their biggest developmental leaps because of the experience gained, the continuity of being in the same system for a full year, along with having a full offseason to work on their craft rather than preparing for the draft.

After a solid rookie season, a jump in 2024 from Jones would go a long way in providing the Colts’ cornerback room and the secondary as a whole with some needed stability.

“I thought we got really good play out of Jones, especially being a seventh (round pick),” Ballard said via the team site. “I give Anthony (Coughlan), our scout in the southwest, all of the credit for Jones. All of it – he gets all of it.

“He pressed, he kept bugging me about it and finally I looked at him and said, ‘I’m taking him. If he stinks, it’s on you. I’ll take the blame for it, but you know it’s on you. If he’s great, you get all the credit.’ He gets all the credit because I think the kid is going to be a really good football player for us.”

Second-year cornerback Jaylon Jones, along with JuJu Brents, appears to be the early favorite to be one of the Indianapolis Colts’ starters on the boundary this season.

Following the NFL draft, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley mentioned that outside of Kenny Moore in the nickel, the starting boundary cornerback roles were “wide open.”

Not surprisingly, Brents has been one of the starters through the first two weeks of OTAs, but across from him has been Jones and not Dallis Flowers. James Boyd of The Athletic would note that Jones had at least one pass breakup down the sideline on a pass from Anthony Richardson.

Jones was a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2023, and he was thrown into the mix fairly quickly as the Colts dealt with injuries in the secondary. Jones would end up playing 788 snaps as a rookie, allowing a completion rate of just 54 percent on 57 targets and only 10.6 yards per catch. Jones would also come away with five pass breakups.

“The biggest thing for me has been trying to stay consistent and disciplined,” said Jones late last season via Horseshoe Huddle. “If I’m doing those two things, adding that to my God-given abilities, great things will continue happening for me.”

In general, for the Colts’ secondary as a whole last season, there weren’t enough plays on the ball being made and there were too many explosive plays surrendered. Coming into this season, PFF still considers the secondary as the weak point of this Colts team.

With the only outside additions to the Colts’ cornerback room this offseason coming in the latter portion of the draft, they are banking heavily on the development of their young players, like Brents and Jones, to be a catalyst behind improved play from that unit.

“Those guys are very talented,” said Julian Blackmon of the Colts’ young cornerbacks. “I’m not really worried about the corners. If I see them in press, I don’t have to worry about them. Just because they’re just competitors, man. Those guys make plays, and they did that last year. So I’m excited to see the next step for those guys.”

It goes without saying, but there is a long way to go before Shane Steichen and Bradley have to decide who their starters are at cornerback, and a lot can change between now and then. However, it is still noteworthy that Jones is getting the early reps over Flowers, who is returning from an Achilles injury.

Ultimately, while making plays on the ball is important, day-in and day-out consistency will be the deciding factor in who wins this starting cornerback role.

“Now we got Dallo (Dallis Flowers) coming back, and JuJu (Brents) and JJ (Jaylon Jones), so I really like that part of it,” said Bradley. “I think for us, it’s the skill set, the length, the speed, now it’s just the consistency.

“Who’s going to step up and be that guy that takes the next step as a corner. Kenny we feel real good about and what he brings and trust Kenny and his consistency. But with those other guys it’s play in and play out, who can play at the standard we’re looking for.”