Jaylon Jones is an Intriguing Rookie to Watch in Indy
The Indianapolis Colts' cornerback depth chart is in a weird place at the moment. A group that performed fairly well overall a season ago is set to replace Pro Bowler Stephon Gilmore and young standout Isaiah Rodgers Sr with a trio of rookies selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
On paper, this move seems like a major downgrade for a secondary that performed admirably in 2022, but it is the right move for a team heading into a minor rebuild/retool of the roster. These rookie cornerbacks will be baptized by fire in 2023, so the onus is on these players to step up to the occasion.
We have already talked in length about the potential of both Juju Brents and Darius Rush on this site, but what about the intriguing seventh round selection for the team? Texas A&M's Jaylon Jones may have been a late round pick in this past draft class, but his profile and background are certainly worth taking a look at prior to training camp.
So today, let's dive into the game of Jaylon Jones and discuss how this young cornerback can earn some playing time as a rookie in 2023.
The Scouting Report
The seventh round in NFL Drafts is essentially an extended version of the undrafted free agent period, as teams are taking dart throws at players that they didn't want to risk losing in the open bidding war that comes after the draft concludes.
While this limits the amount of time and opportunities that these players receive in the NFL, it isn't an automatic death sentence for these players actually succeeding in the league. The Colts have been fortunate to hit on a few seventh round picks under Chris Ballard, most notably players such as Zaire Franklin and Will Fries.
Jaylon Jones, albeit being one of these later round selections, is a bit unique. He was highly touted by many in the pre-draft cycle as being a legit cornerback prospect, so it was a bit of a shock that he fell as far as the seventh round come draft night.
I understand that media grades don't mean everything and teams have a lot more information than we in the media do, but it is typically a decent sign when a majority of media outlets are much higher on a player relative to their draft position. For example, Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network had this to say in his scouting report of Jones back in March:
In a stacked 2023 NFL Draft CB class, Jones still grades out as a top-75 prospect on my board. He’s well worth consideration in the mid-Day 2 range and could even crack the top 64 picks for a team that’s particularly high on his talent and upside.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com also had a more favorable grade on Jones than the NFL did. Zierlein had him with a fourth round grade and remarked how Jones had "premium size and length" and was "big but fluid in his hip swivel" in his scouting report.
Cory Giddings of Bleacher Report also had positive things to say about Jones, and he ranked the young cornerback as an early day three selection in his report as well:
Jones' play style would fit best within a zone-heavy scheme in the NFL, barring a potential move to safety. Without high-quality athletic ability, his ceiling is limited, yet Jones' fluidity for his size and ability to contest receivers create some intrigue.
Now, I'm not trying to appeal to authority here and proclaim Jones as a massive steal because major media outlets were high on him, but it is a positive sign that this selection does have some promise among a handful of smart football analysts.
There were legit reasons why Jones fell to day three on draft night, but on film, it does appear that the Colts got themselves a more than serviceable player in the later rounds of the draft.
The Profile/Film
Let's dive into some of the more interesting aspects of Jaylon Jones' game rather than just relying on the opinions of others for this entire article. Jones has some physical limitations that are plenty concerning (4.57 forty time with just 30 inch arms), but it is hard to deny his production and experience on the field.
Despite only being 21 years old, Jones had nearly 2,000 defensive snaps under his belt at Texas A&M before turning pro. To put that in perspective, Jones played more defensive snaps than both Juju Brents and Darius Rush did in college despite being two years younger than both players... And Jones was also doing this in the SEC!
The production on the field for Jones wasn't too bad either. As a true freshman back in 2020, he allowed an opposing completion percentage when targeted of just 62% while also coming away with an interception and four pass breakups. In 2021, as a sophomore, he logged two interceptions and six pass breakups while holding opposing quarterbacks to just a 51.7% completion percentage when targeted.
Last season was his weirdest season by far, though. Despite seeing 278 coverage snaps on the year, Jones was targeted just 19 times the entire year. On those 19 targets, he allowed just 10 receptions for 94 yards and came away with one pass breakup. His 25.7 coverage snaps per reception allowed was actually the third highest number in the entire draft class among cornerbacks.
Jones was hurt a little bit by his lack of ball production in his final collegiate season, but how is he supposed to make plays on the ball when he is hardly being targeted? In past seasons he showed an ability to play physical and to dislodge passes, but it is difficult to make that type of impact on only 19 targets coming his way all season.
While it is hard to find film on Jones where he is making interceptions or highlight reel plays, it is easy to find competitive reps wand easy to find why quarterbacks didn't target his match-up more in college.
The clips below are of Jones in press coverage against Alabama's incredible duo of Jameson Williams and John Metchie back in 2021. These are far from perfect reps, but they are plenty capable press examples where Jones competed with two of the best receivers in college football.
The Bottom Line
Jaylon Jones is far from a perfect prospect and there is a reason why he fell to the seventh round in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he is facing a unique opportunity to see real playing in year one of his NFL career.
If this young, yet battle-tested, cornerback can put together a strong camp, we could see a lot of snaps out of Jaylon Jones in 2023. That right there is why he is such an intriguing player to watch this offseason.
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