Packers Hosting Another Speedster Receiver
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has a need for speed. General manager Brian Gutekunst is trying to find the right fit in this month’s NFL Draft.
A source confirmed that Tennessee speedster Velus Jones is in Green Bay on Wednesday for a predraft visit. Jones’ visit was first reported by Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson.
At the Scouting Combine, Jones ran his 40 in 4.31 seconds, making him one of the fastest players in the draft. He measured 5-foot-11 3/4 and 204 pounds.
Jones, who is considered a Day 3 possibility, could fill two holes at once.
The first is on offense. The Packers have a major hole at receiver following the trade of All-Pro Davante Adams and the free-agent departure of big-play receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. As a senior, Jones caught 62 passes for 807 yards and seven touchdowns.
The second is on special teams. He earned All-American accolades as a senior, when he averaged 27.3 yards per kickoff return with one touchdown and 15.1 yards per punt return. He returned kickoffs for five seasons and boasted a career mark of 24.4 yards per runback with two scores. He returned punts for the first time in 2021.
It's that four-down skill that separates Jones from other players in a crowded receiver class.
“I’d say my playmaking ability in different phases of the game when it comes to punt return, kickoff return, and playing receiver and having the ability to make plays out of the backfield as well,” Jones said at the Scouting Combine. “When it comes to me, I feel I’m four players in one. I can make plays in any phase of the game.”
Jones spent the 2016 through 2019 seasons at USC. He caught 24 passes in 2018 and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in 2019. He transferred to Tennessee for his final two seasons.
“Everything was a great fit when it came to Jim Chaney being the OC at the time. I saw the success he had a Georgia the years before,” Jones said. “Seeing a guy like Mecole Hardman, me and him have some similar traits. Ways they got him the ball, he was productive in that offense. At the time, they had Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway that left for the league. That only left Josh Palmer there with gametime experience as a receiver. There were two empty slots that needed to be filled. Tee Martin was the receivers coach at the time before he went to the Ravens. So, it was a perfect fit for me.”
Jones got his wish by being a bigger part of the offense. During his two seasons with Vols, he caught 84 passes for 1,087 yards and 10 touchdowns.
As a sixth-year senior, he did most of his damage from the slot. Overall, he caught 76 percent of targeted passes and averaged 8.4 yards after the catch. According to Sports Info Solutions in its draft guide, he ranked 10th in the draft class with a catchable-catch rate of 91 percent and 12th with 3.1 yards per pass route. Impressively, he was No. 1 in the draft class with 0.34 forced missed tackles per reception.
“Jones projects as a low-end No. 4 receiver at the next level working exclusively out of the slot in a scheme that gets him the ball quickly and in space,” noted SIS in its scouting report. “On third downs, he can be a receiver who lines up in the slot and runs short-to-intermediate crossing routes or is the recipient of screens in order to move the chains. His open-field running style is displayed as both a dynamic punt and kick returner on special teams.”
One down side is he will turn 25 a couple weeks after the draft.
“At the end of the day, I have two degrees. Not many people can say that,” he said. “I took advantage of the years I had in college and made the most of my opportunities. We saw once I had the opportunity what I could do with it. A lot of people say my age and stuff but it’s not like I’m 40 years old. That really doesn’t matter to me. I can play with the best of them, run with the best of them. I’m healthier than ever. Never had surgeries. Never had any major injuries in my career. I can definitely hit the ground running.”
The Packers also have hosted Baylor’s Tyquan Thornton, the fastest receiver in the draft. Georgia’s George Pickens also is arriving in Green Bay on Wednesday.
