Jones undrafted, not unloved
Versatile DB earns Bill’s trust
Acoach as exacting as Bill Belichick doesn’t take a player and put him in a new position on a whim. He doesn’t do it unless he has confidence the athlete is ready for the challenge. The bigger the spot, the more confidence the coach must have in the one switching position.
So imagine how much cornerback Jonathan Jones’ confidence must have blossomed when Belichick showed how much he believed in him by switching him to safety for the first time in his life during practices leading up to Super Bowl LIII, after Jones and Keion Crossen had blanketed Chiefs burner Tyreek Hill so well in the AFC Championship Game.
Correctly anticipating an abundance of crossing routes from the Rams’ fleet receivers, Belichick needed more speed in the middle of the field so he called on Jones, one of his favorite utility men, to do the job at safety. Terrific plan, superbly executed by Jones.
Belichick showed his trust in Jones, a 2016 undrafted free agent out of Auburn, in another way, rewarding him with a three-year, $21 million contract extension.
“It meant a lot,” Jones said of the new deal. “I like being here. I like winning here. It’s a good place to be. I’ve enjoyed my time being here and it’s good to get an opportunity to continue being here.”
Jones starts at nickel back for the Patriots and appeared some at safety in Sunday’s 43-0 drubbing of the hapless Dolphins. Whatever role Belichick puts him in, he gets the job done.
Two lopsided games into the season, Jones has three pass breakups and has allowed three catches for 16 yards on 10 targets. That’s serious production.
As each week passes, it becomes more difficult to believe that he was bypassed in the draft after posting such impressive numbers at the NFL scouting combine. His 4.33 40 time was tied with Purdue’s Anthony Brown for the best among cornerbacks. Jones and Brown, chosen in the sixth round by the Cowboys, tied with three other corners with the most bench-press reps (19).
Still, Jones never heard his name called, perhaps because of his height, then listed at 5-foot-9. He said he didn’t think that would hurt him in the draft or on the field. He was half right.
“I have no idea. I guess I wasn’t good enough,” he said, smiling. “There are guys in this league shorter than me playing. That doesn’t matter. When you get an opportunity, you just have to play ball. I was able to get an opportunity, and I took it and ran with it.”
Ran fast. Speedy feet, quick mind and the right attitude. He made himself a valuable special teams player, standing out as a gunner.
“A lot of people who come into this league get to establish themselves on special teams and get to show that they are good players,” Jones said. “Most special teams players are guys who can tackle well and run well, have those abilities. So you get to show that on special teams and then you get to learn the system, learn to better yourself as a player and then you get to contribute on offense or defense.”
His approach was the right one for anyone fresh out of college looking to become established in any profession. Treat the little things like they’re of great importance because they are. Few soar instantly to the top.
“The tasks that they do give you, excel at those,” Jones said. “Do your best and work at those and your role expands from there. It’s a gradual process and you continue to earn trust. This business is a results business. As long as you’re making results, that’s where you earn your trust.”
Just as in the business world, nobody cares about your GPA in college if you execute your tasks efficiently, learn new duties quickly and keep grinding, nobody cares where you were or were not selected on draft day once you have established yourself in the NFL.
“A lot of good players went undrafted,” Jones said before looking back on his fruitless draft day.
“A lot of my family members were there watching it with me and a lot of them were there at the Super Bowl with me, my mom and everybody,” Jones said. “They got to experience both of those, the lows of the draft day and the highs of the Super Bowl. You have expectations (on draft day), but the results are out of your control. The day didn’t go how I planned. I went undrafted. I had the opportunity to come here and it kind of changed my life.”
How many members of the Patriots’ 53-man roster entered the NFL as undrafted free agents?
“I don’t know,” Jones said. “I mean, just guessing, six, seven?”
Close. Nine.
The most surprising name on that list also is first in alphabetical order: Michael Bennett, Adam Butler, James Develin, James Ferentz, J.C. Jackson, Matt LaCosse, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski.