26CornerBlitz

Another backup Goalie.

Subscription required for full access: While Jones showed the proclivity to run the entire route tree coming out of college, most expected him to struggle with the speed and level of play he would see on Sundays. Those fears came to fruition by the Bills’ misuse of him in OC Rick Dennison’s system in 2017. One can assume that by trading up and taking Jones in the second round, the Bills believed he could develop into at least a reliable No. 2 WR. Whether Dennison viewed him that way or not, he used Jones in that manner far too soon and it overwhelmed the rookie. Despite the 4.45 forty-yard dash time, Jones’ in-game speed told a different story on film, as he didn’t exhibit the speed necessary to separate consistently against corners when aligned out wide. Per SIS, the second-most routes he ran in 2017 were of the Go/Fly variety (58 routes), on which he still was targeted just five times. It goes to show he was often the decoy in route combinations, with Matthews and Kelvin Benjamin working the short and intermediate areas. Five hundred and eighty nine of Jones’ 850 total routes run in 2017 started out wide, yet his lack of game speed and physicality meant he wasn’t effective as a deep threat. Too often he struggled to get past corners, and defensive backs easily threw him off his route stem and, at times, drove him into the boundary. After being overwhelmed in his debut NFL season, Jones realized he needed to wipe the slate clean. When asked what he wanted to do better in 2018, Jones said “everything” and added, ” I have to start from scratch, start over.” The Bills offense also went back to the drawing board by firing Dennison and bringing in Brian Daboll. Daboll scouted the roster and quickly determined Jones’ most productive role would be from the slot. So far this season, Jones has taken 298 of his 567 snaps from the slot, already exceeding his 253 snaps from that position in 2017 when Dennison didn’t use Jones in the slot heavily until Week 14, after Matthews was placed on IR.. The change has worked wonders for Jones. Jones has looked right at home from the slot. Of his 37 receptions for 392 yards this season, 27 and 268 have come from the slot position. Putting him inside gives him the ability to attack the leverage of defenders so that he can set up two-way Go’s.