New York Giants Draft Prospect: WR Charlie Jones

How much of a value might Purdue receiver Charlie Jones make for the Giants offense?

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Mar 19, 2023 4:32 PM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants

Purdue Boilermakers

Charlie Jones, WR

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 175 lbs.
Class: RS-Senior
School: Georgia
Age: 24 (10/19/1998)

Combine Measurements

Arm length: 31 ⅝”
Hand size: 9”
40-yard-dash: 4:43
10-yard-split: 1.51
Vertical jump: 36.5”
Broad jump: 10’4”

A former two-star recruit out of Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois, where he was the 442nd-ranked WR and the 86th recruit from Illinois during the 2017 recruiting cycle. Charlie Jones was underrecruited and initially attended Buffalo before transferring to Iowa for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Iowa is a run-dominated offense, so Jones opted to transfer to a pass-heavier offense at Purdue University. Jones thrived in 2022 with Purdue.

Notables

As a red-shirt freshman at Buffalo, Jones caught 18 of 35 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns while operating as a return specialist. Jones pursued an opportunity to join the Big-10 and transferred to Iowa. He sat out the 2019 season due to transfer rules and did not have one reception in 2020 for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He did, however, return a punt for a touchdown in 2020. He was an honorable mention All-American specialist in 2020.

He caught 21 of 34 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns in Iowa’s low-octane offense in 2021 while returning a kick-off for a touchdown. Jones received several awards for his return specialist ability and was named to First-Team All-Big-10 by many respected outlets. Jones thought he was more than just a returner - he was right.

Jones transferred to Purdue and caught 110 passes on 154 receptions (71.4% catch rate) with 12 touchdowns. His 1,361 yards was a school record. Jones aligned out wide 88.4% of the time in 2022 and was an All-American in 2022. Jones bet on himself, and he cashed in.

Strengths

Very good overall athlete with good deep speed and acceleration
Quickly eats into DBs cushions to get on their toes
Quick feet with good change of direction and lower-body flexion
Good explosiveness to come out of breaks to create separation
Diverse release package to provide an advantage vs. press coverage

Beautiful release for a 31 yd TD vs. Nebraska Q2, 5:35, 2nd & 6

Does well to tempo his releases off the LOS
Does a solid job creating separation vs. man coverage
Good overall route runner who masks his intentions well
Had several smooth out & up TDs, displaying his ability to redirect his momentum with hast
Deceptive hips to sink on double-move fakes - his hips do lie (take that, Shakira)
Excellent balance and body control when DBs are in phase
Very smart ability to find the voids in zone coverage

Michigan: Q1, 5:40, 1st & 10; Q1 1:05, 2nd & 6; Q4, 1:22, 1st & 10
Wisconsin: Q3, 5:30, 2nd & 5; Q4, 6:38, 2nd & 10

Excellent concentration and tracking ability
Elite ability to come down with passes in very tight coverage
Adjusts well to passes thrown around his frame
Strong hands that are good in contested catch situations
Extends away from his frame to maximize catch radius
Has acrobatic catches on his film - excellent foot awareness along the sideline
Has elite special teams upside as a punt & kick returner

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Weaknesses

Undersized for a traditional wide receiver
Catch radius isn’t T-Rex-like, but it’s smaller than average
Although he does a good job walking the tightrope up the sideline, better CBs were able to restrict his space off his release versus press coverage when aligned outside the numbers
Aligned mostly on the right side in Purdue’s offense
Only one year of production
Is an older prospect - will turn 25 next season

Summary

Charlie Jones played for three colleges and had an elite season for Purdue in 2022. He’s a good athlete with strong hands who understands how to create separation vs. man and zone coverage. Even when the separation he created was minimal, he was able to secure the catch in tight situations.

His floor in the NFL is a reliable kick-returner who will make a 53-man roster for that ability. His ceiling is a starting wide receiver who would likely be a quarterback’s best friend in high-leverage situations. He’s not the biggest, and he’s older for a normal prospect, but he’s smart, tough, and dependable, with an extensive history as an impressive kick & punt returner.

GRADE: 6.14