Pick 27 (27)--
CB Byron Jones Uconn
OVERVIEW
Missed final five games of 2014 with shoulder surgery. Played in started in 7 games before surgery. In 2013, converted to cornerback from safety and started all 12 games finishing with three interceptions. Started 12 games at safety in 2012. Played basketball and football in high school.
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Extremely smart and instinctive on the field. Shows above-average anticipation of routes. Is able to sniff out rub routes and works to avoid them. Flashes recovery speed downfield and gets head around to find ball and make a play on it. Uses instincts and adequate closing burst to disrupt the catch. Generally reliable tackler. Team captain and leader on the field and in the locker room. Scouts say he's willing to play hurt and inspires his teammates.
WEAKNESSES
Plays with high center of gravity. Has difficulty gearing down quickly and changing directions. Doesn't always play with feet under him. Will lose balance and footing too often. Not a quick-twitch athlete. Feet show noticeable stall before firing forward out of backpedal. Willing to tackle but not a physical player. Suffered season-ending shoulder injury in seventh game of 2014 season.
DRAFT PROJECTION
Round 1 or 2
SOURCES TELL US
"High-character player with the vision and instincts you want from an NFL cornerback. I'm not sure I like him in man coverage but there is a place for him in our league. Really nice young man who you cheer for." -- NFC North scout
NFL COMPARISON
Blidi Wreh-Wilson
BOTTOM LINE
Instinctive cornerback with good size and adequate speed. Has the ball skills and anticipation needed for the position. Jones' balance and overall athleticism could be a concern in man coverage and his season-ending shoulder injury will need to be examined. He would be an interesting free safety prospect with his instincts, but might lack the physicality for the position.
=========================================
STRENGTHS: Tall, athletic frame with good overall muscle definition and distribution. Possesses easy athleticism with light feet, fluid change of direction and quick acceleration to mirror receivers. Understands angles and shows good route recognition to keep his body between the quarterback and his receiver.
Often lined up in press coverage at UConn, showing the balance, aggression and confidence to compete for early playing time in a similar scheme in the NFL. Good vision to locate the football and shows good hand-eye coordination and soft mitts to take advantage of interception opportunities (eight over his career). Sound tackler who breaks down well and uses his long arms to lasso ball-carriers. Voted a team captain as a senior.
WEAKNESSES: Underwent surgery on his left shoulder in October and remains limited while he recovers. Wasn't viewed as a particularly physical defender even prior to the injury and therefore there is some concern as to how aggressive he'll be following surgery. Good lateral agility and balance but his feet tend to get stuck when breaking back toward the quarterback, leaving receivers a sliver of space to haul in passes.
To his credit, Jones closes quickly and is a reliable tackler. Said following his record-breaking leap that even he was surprised by his jump, saying that his personal best prior to the Combine was 11-7, a full eight inches short of his leap in Indianapolis.
COMPARES TO: Prince Amukamara, Giants: By suffering a season-ending shoulder injury midway through his senior season, Jones didn't earn all-conference or all-star game attention but the tape shows an instinctive, athletic defender with the size, toughness and work ethic to project as a future NFL starter.
--Rob Rang
PLAYER OVERVIEW
Jones is literally leaping up draft boards after he provided the highlight of the final workouts at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis with a standing broad jump of 12-feet-3 inches, that is not only the best ever at a combine, but a world record. The previous world record for the broad jump was 12-2, set Nov. 11, 1968 by Norwegian Arne Tvervaag of the Ringerike FIK Sportclub.
It wasn't just the broad jump that had scouts buzzing. Jones finished among the best performers at any position in the vertical jump (44 inches), 3-cone drill (6.78) and short shuttle (3.94).
With the Combine just three weeks removed from when he started running, Jones didn't run the 40-yard dash or perform in the positional drills and therefore how he performs at UConn's March 31 Pro Day will play a key role in his final grading.
Jones had left shoulder surgery in October, ending his second season as a starting cornerback after starting at safety in 2011 and 2012. At the time of the injury Jones had 24 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups. He returned one interception 70 yards for a touchdown.
He started 37 of 43 possible games for the Huskies, including six of the final seven games of his redshirt freshman season at safety while future NFL draft picks Blidi Wreh-Wilson (Tennessee Titans) and Dwayne Gratz (Jacksonville Jaguars) starred at cornerback. Jones finished with 223 tackles, 18 passes defended and eight interceptions in four years. He posted a career-high 88 tackles while playing at safety during the 2012 season, then set new career-bests with eight pass breakups and three interceptions in 2013 after converting to cornerback.
Jones has the athleticism for cornerback, but looks and tackles like safety at 6-1 and 199 pounds. He was a senior captain at UConn with impeccable character that has coaches gushing about his intangibles. Factor in the athletic prowess and Jones has created a ton of positive buzz -- and he didn't have to run the 40-yard dash to do so.
============================
