Intrigue Aplenty, Sidney Jones Could Soar With Seahawks

Before the start of training camp, most experts viewed the Seahawks cornerback situation as the biggest question mark on the team. Unfortunately, the preseason created more questions than answers at the position and the team's concerns about depth there have become evident with two trades being made during a week span.

Only five days after acquiring John Reid from Houston, Seattle reportedly has traded a 2022 sixth-round pick to Jacksonville in exchange for Sidney Jones, bringing the former University of Washington star back to the Pacific Northwest.

Such a trade offers plenty of intrigue for the Seahawks, as Jones at one time was viewed by many draft experts as a can't miss first-round prospect. A two-time First-Team All-Pac 12 selection for the Huskies, the 6-foot, 181-pound defender produced 145 tackles, eight interceptions, 21 passes defensed, and six forced fumbles in 30 career collegiate games.

Coming off a sensational junior season in which he helped lead Washington to the college football playoffs, Jones decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2017 NFL Draft. He turned in a quality showing at the scouting combine, cementing his status as a first round selection by running the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds and posting a respectable 7.02-second 3-cone drill.

But Jones' stock would soon be sent into a tailspin. A little over a month after performing all of the testing except the bench press at the combine, he blew out his Achilles during Washington's pro day workout and underwent surgery soon after, putting his chances of playing at all in the upcoming season in limbo.

As expected, the injury pushed Jones out of the first round and his free fall lasted until the Eagles decided to take a chance and draft him with the No. 43 overall pick in the second round. Rehabbing from surgery for most of the season, he played in a single game for the eventual Super Bowl champions, recording a pair of tackles.

Durability continued to be an issue for Jones in his second season in Philadelphia. After earning the team's starting nickel cornerback job out of camp, he started the first six games before suffering a pulled hamstring. He would wind up missing a total of six regular season and two playoff games, re-aggravating the injury twice when he returned to the field too quickly.

When he was healthy, Jones was relatively ineffective for the Eagles. According to Pro Football Focus, he missed eight tackles and allowed 31 completions for 292 yards and two touchdowns in coverage, receiving a dismal 47.5 overall grade.

Jones bounced in and out of the lineup for Philadelphia in 2019, appearing in a career-high 12 games with four starts and showing steady improvements across the board. He recorded new personal bests with five pass breakups and two interceptions while allowing quarterbacks to complete only 55 percent of their passes against him in coverage.

However, the Eagles cut Jones at the end of training camp a year ago, allowing him to hit waivers after being passed on the depth chart by several players. The Jaguars signed him to their practice squad and only eight days later, he was elevated to the active roster. Appearing in nine games with six starts, he matched his career-high in interceptions, produced seven pass breakups, and opposing quarterbacks only completed 51.6 percent of their passes when targeting him.

Unfortunately, injuries again hampered Jones, as he missed five games with a sore Achilles and landed on injured reserve in late December.

Given his lengthy injury history, the Seahawks can't know for certain what Jones will be able to offer to their cornerback group. Overall, he has played only 946 defensive snaps in four NFL seasons, missing a grand total of 28 regular season games sidelined by health issues, which has hindered his development.

Jones also has had his share of issues on the field. In particular, he gave up more than 21 yards per reception last season, surrendering three receptions of 48 yards or more. He continued to occasionally have issues finishing tackles as well, posting a 10.7 missed tackle percentage per Pro Football Focus.

Even in the preseason this month, Jones has been up and down in the Jaguars three games. He gave up a touchdown in coverage against the Cowboys on Sunday, allowed 17.3 yards per catch in the second exhibition game versus the Saints, and had a missed tackle in every contest. If he can't eliminate big plays and he's not making tackles consistently, he's going to be hard-pressed to play for Pete Carroll.

But there's reason to believe if Jones can stay healthy - a huge if at this point - that he could be an upgrade over Seattle's current options at left cornerback. He's a physical defender who isn't afraid to mix it up pressing receivers at the line of scrimmage and in limited game action, he's exhibited plus ball skills and the ability to stick with athletic wideouts in coverage. It can be argued he's already shown more than those he will likely be competing against for playing time with his new team.

Ahkello Witherspoon, who will likely start opposite of D.J. Reed in Week 1, has the same number of interceptions and less pass breakups on more than twice as many defensive snaps compared to Jones. Rookie Tre Brown is now nursing a knee injury, while veteran Damarious Randall has had his own injury issues and hasn't started an NFL game at cornerback since 2017. Reid just arrived and literally has two practices under his belt and Gavin Heslop hasn't played in a regular season game.

Even compared to his peers on the right side, most notably Tre Flowers, Jones has offered more productivity playing the football and proven himself to be more adept at defending in-breaking routes. Reed remains the heavy favorite to start there, but Jones actually played most of his snaps on the right side in Jacksonville, so that may be worth monitoring if he impresses on the practice field early.

Stating the obvious, the Seahawks don't have an ideal set of options to work with right now trying to replace Shaquill Griffin, who ironically went to the Jaguars in free agency and whose arrival helped lead to Jones' exit. Returning to his old stomping grounds in a familiar defensive system - former Jacksonville defensive coordinator Todd Wash previously coached under Carroll and Gus Bradley in Seattle - could provide Jones with his best opportunity yet to meet his immense potential.

Time will tell what the Seahawks plan to do with Jones, but if he responds to Carroll's coaching and stays available, even after a myriad of injuries, the physical tools and football smarts remain in place for him to flourish and potentially emerge as a starter.