Josh Jones Embracing Opportunity with Jaguars After Early Career Ups and Downs
One year ago, Josh Jones had no idea he would be preparing to start an NFL game. He didn't even know if he would be on a team, let alone being asked to play a prominent role like one the Jacksonville Jaguars envision for him.
But it is the struggles that led Jones to his uncertain place a year ago that taught him the lessons which have helped him thrive in Jacksonville. What was one a time of uncertainty for Jones has turned into a new opportunity, one Jones has embraced fully.
“It’s been a long journey, kind of short in the span of four years, but it’s been tough. There’s some ups and downs but I wouldn’t want it any [other] way," Jones said during a media conference on Thursday.
"I believe in [that] you go through what you go through because you need to know what you know. Now, I’m in a place where my coaches believe in me and it just makes it easier for me.”
Jones was originally a second-round pick (61st overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. The athletic NC State product had plenty of hype coming into the league thanks to an electric performance at the NFL Scouting Combine (4.41 40-yard dash, 132-inch broad jump), but his time with the Packers was a short one.
After just two years and 12 starts with the Packers, Jones was released before the 2019 season began and would eventually sign with the Dallas Cowboys, where he would appear in six games. Jones quietly joined the Jaguars on Dec. 31 after being claimed on waivers.
“You know what, being a young player, obviously you go through some learning curves. So that whole thing and I have a lot of wisdom," Jones said.
"I went through a lot of stuff and now I’m able to pass it on to the younger guys, the younger rookies now and say, ‘Hey, just learn to appreciate this game’ because 365 days ago I was on the outside looking in and I never want anyone to go through that because if you love the game as much as I love the game, I was in a very, very dark place 365 days ago and to be in this position, the only person I can thank is God.”
After spending three seasons with two different teams and never really finding his footing in the league, Jones made it a point to immerse himself in Jacksonville's defensive playbook. He made an impression on head coach Doug Marrone for his willingness to learn during the offseason and the former highly-touted draft pick turned free agent began to slowly but surely make himself known in Jacksonville.
There were no guarantees he would have a role, as the Jaguars already had two starting safeties in Ronnie Harrison and Jarrod Wilson. But throughout the course of training camp, Jones flashed on a consistent basis and earned more and more opportunities from the Jaguars.
"He was down at the third spot when we started training camp and as soon as he got in there, he started communicating real loud. The rest of the team was like, ‘Who in the heck is this guy?’" defensive coordinator Todd Wash said Thursday.
"He really jumped off the tape about how he studies and his ability to make plays. You’ve seen that on Sunday and I think he was in on eleven-some tackles.
Jones would eventually overtake Harrison in the battle for the starting strong safety spot, resulting in Harrison being traded to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick. The move came as a surprise to many outside of Jacksonville, but maybe not as much to those who had been tracking Jones in camp.
"He communicated really well and once that happened, we started getting him with the first unit, rotating him and Ronnie [Harrison]. We’ve seen a guy that obviously can play," Wash said. "We like his speed, his athleticism, and he just slowly moved up the depth chart and we feel really comfortable with playing him. So, it was really from the start. He moved up quickly and there was a heck of a battle between those two early on in camp.”
Jones ended up starting for the Jaguars in Week 1's 27-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He led the team in tackles with 12, tying a career-high. He also played 72 snaps, the most in his NFL career. It was the first time Jones had started a game since Dec. 30, 2018, which was his final game for the Packers.
"When I say a dark place, you have to understand, I’ve been playing this game since I was like eight years old. So, for last year, 365 days ago, I think I was out of football for four weeks and I love this game," Jones said.
"Anybody that’s around me knows I play this game off pure love. You can see it when I play, so I felt like I didn’t know whether or not I was going to play again. A lot of things run through your head: what’s going to happen, what team you’re going to go to. It’s a lot of uncertainty, so I had a lot of that and when something like that is taken away from you, you just learn to appreciate the game so much more.”
Jones is now entrenched as a starter in Jacksonville's secondary, which makes sense since Jones embodies so many of the qualities the Jaguars team as a whole represents. He is young, hungry, and overlooked. He has an opportunity in front of him that might not ever come his way again, making 2020 a key year.
Luckily for Jones, he seems to have found himself right at home as Jacksonville's strong safety. In Week 1 he played mostly in the box, serving as essentially an extra linebacker for the Jaguars in nickel looks. He was a physical presence in the box and played fast and instinctively, clearly comfortable in his new defense.
“You know what, to be honest, coming out of the draft, I always said ‘This is kind of the scheme that Seattle won big with’ so I always said, ‘This is the system I need to be in.’ I always spoke it into existence," Jones said.
"I always spoke it into the universe and here I am. It fits my skill set: a guy that can run sideline to sideline, a guy that’s [as] athletic as I am. Not to toot my own horn, but just to show my God-given abilities out there and it’s fun. This defense is real fun.”
Jacksonville needs a playmaker in the secondary to give the defense a much-needed boost. Jones needed a team to give him a shot he was never really given anywhere else in his career.
Jones, like the rest of the Jaguars, has the next 15 games to continue to make an impression in the league and hopefully earn even more chances. Expect for him to continue to attack that opportunity with the same ferocity he has since December; anything else would be out of character.
