With the NFL free agency and draft both in the rear-view mirror, and the final phase of voluntary offseason workouts underway, the New England Patriots are officially “on to 2023.”
At the moment, the Patriots have 88 players on their roster. Only 53 of those players will be able to survive roster cutdowns and ultimately make the active team, with others competing for practice squad spots. Over the course of spring and summer, just like we have in years past, we will take an in-depth look at the men fighting for those spots to find out who has the best chances of helping New England rebound from a disappointing 2022 season.
Today, the series continues with second-year cornerback Jack Jones.
Hard facts
Name: Jack Jones
Position: Cornerback
Opening day age: 25 (12/20/1997)
Size: 5’11”, 175 lbs
Jersey number: 13
Contract status: Under contract through 2025 (2026 UFA)
Experience
A five-star recruit out of high school, Jones started his college career at USC and by his sophomore campaign had established himself as the Trojans’ best cornerback. However, his career started to take a turn for the worse in 2018. He missed spring practices due to academic reasons and was later arrested for allegedly breaking into a Panda Express. Jones eventually was ruled academically ineligible for the upcoming season, left USC, and served 45 days of house arrest for commercial burglary.
He reemerged at Arizona State after a one-year stint at Moorpark College during which he focused on his studies and did not play football. Jones spent the final three years of his college career at ASU, appearing in 25 games with nine starts. He was named an honorable All-Pac 12 mention twice, butt also was suspended for one game in 2020 for fighting in practice.
Nevertheless, his talent as well as an encouraging performance in the pre-draft process prompted the Patriots to bring Jones aboard in the 2022 NFL Draft. The team invested a fourth-round pick in him, and he went on to see action in 13 games as a rookie — intercepting a pair of passes along the way, and even finding the end zone on one occasion.
2022 review
Stats: 13 games (2 starts) | 434 defensive snaps (38.4%), 38 special teams snaps (8.3%) | 30 tackles, 3 missed tackles (9.1%) | 37 targets, 20 catches, 357 yards, 2 INTs (1 TD) | 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Season recap: Jones’ college career was one of considerable ups and downs, which left his status in question heading into the 2022 draft; the talent was most certainly there, but so was a long history of off-field issues. Ultimately, though, the Patriots showed confidence in his potential and ability to become a contributor: they invested the 121st overall selection in the fourth round to bring him aboard.
Jones quickly showed that the team made a good choice by investing in him. Starting the season as the No. 3 outside cornerback behind starters Jonathan Jones and Jalen Mills, he saw rotational action early on — including his first ever NFL game in Week 1, when the Patriots trusted him to go up against All-Pro Tyreek Hill for a handful of snaps.
After being used as a package player the first three weeks, Jones registered the first start of his career in Week 4 versus the Green Bay Packers to replace an injured Mills. Despite the increased workload, the rookie delivered what was arguably the most noteworthy performance of his 2022 campaign: playing all but one of the Patriots’ 73 defensive snaps that day, he forced and recovered a fumble and also registered a 40-yard pick-six off of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Pick-6 for the rookie Jack Jones! @presidentjacc
— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2022
: #NEvsGB on CBS
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/YPHqeLC4zg pic.twitter.com/OJItBVOmYW
While that game was an impressive display of Jones’ capabilities as a press-man cornerback and playmaker in the New England secondary, it was not his only solid performance in 2022. Just one week later, for example, he registered another interception when he perfectly high-pointed a pass against the Detroit Lions.
Jones did have his ups and downs and natural rookie growing pains, but he was competitive when in the lineup. Unfortunately, he was unable to sustain the momentum he built throughout the season.
He suffered a knee injury early on in the Patriots’ Week 14 game in Arizona, and had to sit out the following two games because of the ailment. He then missed the final two games of the season because of a team suspension: apparent tardiness in his recovery process led the Patriots to voluntarily shut him down in Weeks 17 and 18; whether or not his injury would even have allowed him to play in the first place is questionable, though.
Jones therefore ended his 2022 season with 13 in-game appearances and 434 of a possible 1,130 defensive snaps (38.4%). He gave up 20 receptions on 37 credited targets for 357 yards, but did not surrender a touchdown while registering two interceptions — including the aforementioned pick-six.
As was the case during his college career, his highs were rather high and his lows pretty low. He and the team can feel good about his play, but his suspension to end the year puts a damper on what would otherwise have been an encouraging season.
2023 preview
What will be his role? Jones started his rookie season as the No. 3 outside cornerback, but was the next man up when then-starter Jalen Mills went down. Heading into his sophomore campaign, it would therefore not be a surprise to see him earn a starting spot in the secondary: Jones might either serve as a regular starter, or be part of a rotation also featuring first-round draft pick Christian Gonzalez. Regardless, the expectation is that his playing-time share will increase significantly compared to 2022.
What is his growth potential? There are several areas for growth when it comes to Jones, starting his professionalism. After all, he had off-field issues in college and also in Year 1 in the NFL. From an on-field perspective, his tackling technique and ability to challenge receivers throughout their patterns should be points of emphasis — spending time in an NFL-level strength program should help with that — as should be what at times can be described as overaggressiveness.
Does he have positional versatility? The Patriots did move Jones around a bit in his rookie year, but it is clear that they see him as an outside cornerback first and foremost. In total, 372 of his 434 snaps on defense came with him split out wide (85.7%). In addition to his defensive contributions, he also played a handful of snaps in the kicking game: Jones was on the field for 38 reps with the field goal and extra point blocking unit.
What is his salary cap situation? Considering that he might be playing a starter role in the Patriots secondary in 2023, Jones is playing on a modest contract: his salary cap hit of $1.06 million ranks just 43rd on the team at the moment. The deal consists of a $870,000 salary as well as his fully-guaranteed $186,746 signing bonus proration.
How safe is his roster spot? Even though he ended last season on the suspension list, Jones looks like a rather safe bet to make the roster. Not only did he take starter-level reps during the Patriots’ first open organized team activity on May 31, he also showcased his talents repeatedly as a rookie. It remains to be seen how big of a role he will eventually play, but the belief is that he will be a prominent part of New England’s defensive mix.
One-sentence projection: Jones will be able to make it through his second NFL season without any off-field issues, and as a consequence will end the year near the top of the Patriots’ interception list.
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