© Mark Hoffman / USA TODAY NETWORK
Now moving onto one of the biggest steals of the draft. New England Patriots fourth round selection, cornerback Jack Jones.
PFF has Jones graded at 88.5 defensively, which is 92.8 in man coverage and 79.5 in zone coverage with one interception and one forced fumble. His biggest game was against the Green Bay Packers where he snagged his first interception and in that same game, he also forced a fumble.
“Personally, I feel like it’s disrespectful to throw an out route on me,” Jones said after the game against the Green Bay Packers. “If you can throw the ball past me to get to the receiver, I’m no good.”
To be fair, Jones plays incredibly well against out and curl routes. Here is a mini compilation of him defending those routes.
Next Gen Stats researcher Taylor Kyles @tkyles39, who covers the Patriots for CLNSMediaput this video together.
From this video clip alone, it makes total sense why Jones would feel some disrespect when quarterbacks throw out-routes against him. His closing recognition and closing speed is phenomenal.
Not a lot of people expected Jones to make this big of an impact especially with the Patriots already having their starters set. Once Jalen Mills went down with an injury, Jones did not hesitate to fill his spot.
Here is what veteran Devin McCourty had to say about Jones’ performance, “I laugh,” the defensive captain said. “Listen, that’s what it’s about to be young, be energetic, confident. Listen, he was happy to be out there. … I like the guy that’s like, ‘All right, I’m ready,’ and not the guy like, ‘Man, I didn’t know. I don’t know.’ Jack was ready to go. I think you can appreciate that.”
.