Midseason Scouting Report: CB Jack Jones is an Underrated Stud

Among this year’s group of impressive late-round rookies, CB Jack Jones for the New England Patriots has particularly stood out. He wasn’t evaluated due to his poor physical traits and conference play, but he’s proved to play well so far in Belichick’s system. Because of the low draft status, and the way he’s played so soon into his career, it seemed worth it to do a deep analysis of this guy. He received a lot of hype, but it’s been very common for late-rounders to randomly become decent in this scheme so my expectations were a bit lower. Besides a few plays, it was thoroughly impressive to watch, especially for a rookie. While he has his physical limitations, he is the type of player that will excel from the mental side of the game. Some of the hype on him might be unwarranted as he’s benefited greatly from the scheme, coaching, and the surrounding talent as well. He will have to get more consistent and prove he can play well for an extended period of time, but it’s looking likely as he showed steady improvement through the season.

2022 Stats (Through WK 8)

Film Analysis

Week 4: @ GB

• On the first drive, no action comes his way until he gets a fumble recovery on a screenplay.
• In the first quarter, playing off-man against Allen Lazard, he gives ups no separation on a short in-route.
• Soon after, playing off-man against Christian Watson, he gets away with a slight hold trying to cover a vertical route; Watson made a good route and outmatched him with his speed, but Jones showed good timing.
• On the rushing TD from Watson, Jones perhaps could’ve prevented the score with better instincts.
• In the second, Jones is playing off-zone against Lazard and gives up a quick out. He had to allow himself a bit of extra space due to his limited speed, but he showed a good burst here.
• Jones covers a vertical route against Romeo Doubs in off-man and does an excellent job of staying in front while also staying in a position to make a play.
• On the next play, when covering Lazard running an out-route in off-man, he gets a pick-six. He gave up less space this time and read the eyes of Rodgers perfectly – this was a high-IQ play.
• Does a good job of positioning himself to receivers when playing in a deep zone.
• Failed to rap up on a screen to Doubs.
• In the fourth, Jones plays off-man against Doubs from the slot who runs a deep fade. He was one-on-one and got targeted, but kept right in front of him and forced the incompletion. He understood Rodgers was aiming for the perimeter and gained outside leverage. This was great man-coverage technique and he showed very fluid hips.
• In his first press-coverage snap, he demonstrated poor technique.
• Has better technique in press coverage on a later play on the goal line.
• Late in the fourth, Jones plays off-man against Lazard and gets fooled on a stutter step. Lazard was running a vertical route and Jones expected an out-breaking one – this resulted in an ugly play from him, but it luckily didn’t get targeted.
• In OT, Jones gives up a 22-yard completion to Allen Lazard on a deep curl. He was in an off-cover-three zone and bit on the vertical sell, which caused him to stumble and give up the play. This will get better with more pro experience.
• Note: Jones graded out extremely well in this game by pff.com, and it was on 37 coverage snaps.

Week 6: @ CLE

• In the first quarter, Jones is off the field most plays and doesn’t receive any action.
• In the second, Jones is in off-man against Donovan Peoples-Jones and gives up a 12-yard gain. Peoples-Jones ran a short in, while Jones had a good reaction time and showed great acceleration; the pass was in a good location and the receiver made a good catch.
• In the late second, he has perfect technique covering Amari Cooper on a stutter-go-route. Playing off-man, he gives himself just enough space to compensate for his lack of speed – he was targeted but forced the incompletion.
• On the next play, Jones is playing either a match-coverage or is off-man, but he gives up way too much separation. He’s covering Anthony Schwartz on a deep in-breaker and has safety help, but he bites way too hard on the first cut – he luckily wasn’t targeted.
• In the third, Jones playing off-man against Cooper running a curl was targeted. Jones didn’t have the best route recognition, but he was quick to make the tackle, and luckily the pass was off.
• Has shown subtle improvement in press coverage.
• Had better tackling this game.
• Overall, he didn’t give up as many catches this game and had a lot of solid reps.

Final conclusion

Jack Jones fits very well in Belichicks man-heavy system as it allows him to see a lot of off-coverage looks against number two receivers. He did a great job of minimizing his lack of speed by having refined technique and being a very heady player. He is clearly best playing in off-coverage as it gives him the needed space to gain leverage against the receiver’s route. He often will recognize and time the break in the route perfectly, which will lead to a lot of picks and pass-breakups. One thing to note is that he doesn’t have many reps against high-end receivers which is something to look for in the future. It’s been rather obvious he doesn’t feel comfortable playing press, but that can take time to develop. A good aspect noticed was he only got grabby once or twice through both games. Once he has more experience playing in the New England Secondary, he’ll likely clean up some of his mistakes, and be a high-end starter.

Grades

Traits/ Skills (see bottom of the page for scale)

All potential first-round prospects are graded and analyzed through ‘film’ of at least three games dedicated to each player. In addition, an array of various stats and analytics are also factored in. Each trait/attribute is graded 1-7.

Player’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Jack Jones Bio

• Jones is best-fit playing on the outside in an off-coverage scheme which allows him to play with his eyes on the QB.
• Has very good route recognition and is quick to close on breaks.
• Has some of the best off-man-coverage technique you’ll ever see from a rookie; does a great job of mirroring the receiver.
• His ability to flip his hips and burst toward the receiver is borderline elite.
• Had good ball production in college, and showed very impressive ball skills on film.
• Will have a knack for picks as he has the ability to bait the QB and demonstrated great timing on pass-breakups.
• His high IQ and route recognition allow him to play deep zones very efficiently.
• While he is committed to run defense, he still lacks good run instincts and is too small to shed blocks.
• Does not have the size, nor the experience to play well in press coverage.
• His lack of length will limit the upside of his ball skills.
• Due to the average long speed, he doesn’t possess great upside as a boundary corner.
• Needs to improve his tackling.

Combine

40 yd: 4.51

10 yd: 1.53

Shuttle:

3 cone:

Broad Jump:

Vertical:

Bench:

Arm length: 30.75

Grading Scale:

Pot=Potential: players’ highest upside

Imp=Impact: player’s immediate impact

Individual trait scale (1-7):

7 – Rare world-class skill; best in the league and no room for improvement   |   6 – Great-elite skill; one of the best at that given trait but still has some room to improve   |   5 – Very good; above average and has potential to be elite   |   4 – Average; able to suffice but, not ideal long-term   |   3 – Below average; able to suffice at college level   |   2 – Poor; hinders overall play and is a liability to the team   |   1 – Awful; not good enough to play given position at any level above D2 | Note: Consistency plays a large factor.

Overall Draft grade scale (15-100):

85+ – Generational talent; immediate all-pro/ potential HOF.   |   83-85 – Bluechip prospect; immediate star with elite upside   |   81-83 – High first-round talent; high-end starter/ elite potential.   |   79-81 – First rounder; Day one starter/ boom or bust (low risk).   |   76-79 – Replacement level starter/ boom or bust (high risk).   |   73-76 – Will become good starter with 2-3 years/ high upside project.   | 70-73 – Eventual average starter.   |   68-70 – Day one backup/ potential starter.   |   64-68 – Depth piece/ Special teamer  |   64-0 – Practice squad/ league min. level; journeymen/ longshots | QBs have +5 draft value compared to average position.