Player: Velus Jones

School: Tennessee 

Height and Weight: 6’0”, 200 

Combine Results:

• 40: 4.31
• Bench:
• Broad Jump: 33’
• Vertical Jump: 121’
• 3 Cone: DNP
• Shuttle: DNP

Strengths: Very good return man (second most yards per punt return in FBS and top 20 on kickoff returns), elusive with ball in his hands, top level speed, hard to bring down due to ball carrier moves and strength through contact, decent blocker, decent route runner, not a ton of drops,

Weaknesses: Very short strider, played almost exclusively in slot (despite having the speed to play outside), a little older for a rookie, routes are decent but could be sharper

Projected Draft Day: Day 2

Player Comparison: A little bit bigger Brandon Cooks

Player Summary: Jones has one of the highest upsides of any receiver in this draft based on predicted draft round (3rd or later). He is a legitimate deep threat where his 40 time from the combine shows up repeatedly on tape. He is a decent route runner, with good hands, and can play in the slot as well as offer some upside out wide. As a runner he is decently elusive, but is very strong through contact and does not go down easy. He was also one of the best return men in college football last year. He is a very short strider, will be on the older side for a rookie, and does have some development to do especially in tightening up his route cuts and breaks. However, he put up good numbers this season with some of the worst quarterback play you will find. Just look at Tennessee’s game against Georgia. He had a good stat line, but what the numbers do not show is his quarterback missing him on multiple deep throws, and completely ignoring him when he blew by the corner on other occasions. We are betting on the upside here, and if he is a late day two pick or early day three, he could be the steal of the draft at the wide receiver position.