Patriots select CB Marcus Jones

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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Played outside corner, slot corner, safety and WR, also returned both kicks and punts.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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This kid’s a Swiss Army knife, fun to watch. Might be too small to play the other two phases at the next level, but he’s nice as a returner.
 

riboflav

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SOSH pre-draft: They need more speed! MORE SPEED! Since - aw so and so is fast but is that it?
 

Ferm Sheller

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SOSH pre-draft: They need more speed! MORE SPEED! Since - aw so and so is fast but is that it?
I'm not at all criticizing the Thornton and Jones picks (I have absolutely no idea and won't pretend that I do, and kinda like them from what little I've seen), but you can't honestly think that all anyone wanted are guys who are fast, period.
 

BaseballJones

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I’m doing some more digging into these three picks. Last night I was a little discouraged but this morning I’m feeling more optimistic.

All three guys the Pats drafted so far are tremendous athletes. We wanted a faster and more athletic team, and the Patriots are drafting with that in mind.

Thornton can play. Elite, world class speed. Talk and rangy. Good hands. Man can he get separation. His QB play last year was poor. There were a lot of clips of him getting WIDE open deep and the ball not being there. The guy can flat out fly. But he also looks like he runs routes well too. Crisp and quick. He has the potential to be a game changing kind of receiver. The more I look at him the more I wonder why people weren’t higher on him. His slender frame is the only issue I see because he has the rest of what he needs to be fantastic.

Jones is a BALLER. I saw him play in person this year at UConn. Fast, quick, sticks like glue. I love that he’s an elite returner and actually can play some offense. Never a bad thing having a versatile guy. Who knows... injuries happen and maybe they’ll actually use him on O. He can be electric with the ball. But man can he cover. That he’s short isn’t a huge concern unless he’s matched up with a huge receiver, which they’ll obviously try to avoid.

And I love the Strange pick the more I look into it.

So I’m happy so far. Maybe this is just me talking myself into it (haha) but I think they’ve drafted some real talent and athleticism with major, major upside.

A bit risky, I know. But the upside is off the charts with these picks.

Now please get DL and LB help today Bill!!
 

Over Guapo Grande

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Is Jones the heir to Jones as the Hill cover guy? Or will Jones be getting swing passes from Jones? It's hard to keep up with all of this...
 

Ferm Sheller

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Ugh, I was thinking JC Jackson as the guy that Marcus Jones would be taking over for. It's Jackson, not Jones. Brain cramp.
 

Toe Nash

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Cool cool cool, but um can he catch? Isn't the joke that DBs would be WRs if they could catch.
Well, he's returned kicks so he can catch those at least. And there are plenty of ways to get a guy the ball on screens and sweeps even if he can't win a catch against a CB.
 

BigSoxFan

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I don’t know why I have good vibes on this kid but I do. I love it when the Pats have an electric KR and not some bland Patrick Pass/Bolden option back there.
 

bakahump

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Tyreke, this will be your chaperone while in New England this weekend.
 

DJnVa

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Was reading about this guy and Evan Lazar kinda encapsulated what I think about the whole draft process/value/BB doesn't know what he's doing.

Paraphrasing but he said he had Jones at #49, Pats get him at #85. Why did he slip? Because of his size. Well dude, he was that size when he was scouted. So if players are dropping from #49 on your board to #85 in real life because of a known data point then he's not actually dropping--it's the rating that's not capturing what teams really look for.
 

Cellar-Door

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Was reading about this guy and Evan Lazar kinda encapsulated what I think about the whole draft process/value/BB doesn't know what he's doing.

Paraphrasing but he said he had Jones at #49, Pats get him at #85. Why did he slip? Because of his size. Well dude, he was that size when he was scouted. So if players are dropping from #49 on your board to #85 in real life because of a known data point then he's not actually dropping--it's the rating that's not capturing what teams really look for.
All general rankings are also nonsense because a lot of players only work in certain schemes. Like Chenal... How many teams need a big LB who can't cover... Many teams rank on him was likely... Not even as UDFA.
 

SMU_Sox

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I had a hard time figuring out Marcus Jones. I am taking this from my twitter because no need to write it up differently. This is from April 25th so it is my pre-draft thoughts:

"Another hard discussion for me this year was Marcus Jones. He's a world-class returner and he gives it his all as a slot corner. Highly athletic. He's tiny though and bigger slots are going to be able to take advantage of him. It's not that I don't like his tape... it's more the value of someone with that tape at his size. He's 5'8", 174 pounds, and has 28.875 inch arms. Only one guy in the last 10 years has been drafted at corner with shorter than 29 inch arms. I just can't get on board with taking him before day 3. He's a fit for them both as a returner and a slot corner. But typically they take guys like him late 3+ or if they are his size as UDFAs. He's 88 on Arif's board so maybe? I'd rather not though and I am not sure they will either. Last note on him... they could like him as a gadget offensive player too. He's that good with the ball in his hands. And if they really want a special returner - he's your guy. Quick note: Bleep you, Marcus Jones, for beating SMU with 30 seconds to go."

He can't compete at the catch point with bigger slots. If you take the Lombardi approach though and think of your corners as a basketball team he makes a lot of sense as someone to cover the guys @RedOctober3829 mentioned. Matchup corner on smaller, faster, twitched up guys.

It's possible he can replace Jon Jones long term as Jones is in the last year of his deal and if they go from him to Marcus Jones they save ~$7m or so replacing him.
 
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BigSoxFan

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I had a hard time figuring out Marcus Jones. I am taking this from my twitter because no need to write it up differently. This is from April 25th so it is my pre-draft thoughts:

"Another hard discussion for me this year was Marcus Jones. He's a world-class returner and he gives it his all as a slot corner. Highly athletic. He's tiny though and bigger slots are going to be able to take advantage of him. It's not that I don't like his tape... it's more the value of someone with that tape at his size. He's 5'8", 174 pounds, and has 28.875 inch arms. Only one guy in the last 10 years has been drafted at corner with shorter than 29 inch arms. I just can't get on board with taking him before day 3. He's a fit for them both as a returner and a slot corner. But typically they take guys like him late 3+ or if they are his size as UDFAs. He's 88 on Arif's board so maybe? I'd rather not though and I am not sure they will either. Last note on him... they could like him as a gadget offensive player too. He's that good with the ball in his hands. And if they really want a special returner - he's your guy. Quick note: Bleep you, Marcus Jones, for beating SMU with 30 seconds to go."

He can't compete at the catch point with bigger slots. If you take the Lombardi approach though and think of your corners as a basketball team he makes a lot of sense as someone to cover the guys @RedOctober3829 mentioned. Matchup corner on smaller, faster, twitched up guys.

It's possible he can replace Jon Jones long term as Jones is in the last year of his deal and if they go from him to Marcus Jones they save ~$7m or so replacing him.
Does he have a chance to be a special NFL kick returner? His highlights there were impressive but I feel like I see similar highlights from every year’s draft and it doesn’t always translate. I’m probably most excited about his potential contributions in the return game.
 

RedOctober3829

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Does he have a chance to be a special NFL kick returner? His highlights there were impressive but I feel like I see similar highlights from every year’s draft and it doesn’t always translate. I’m probably most excited about his potential contributions in the return game.
His comps from draft experts were both Dante Hall and Devin Hester. Now that may be too high of a praise for him considering those are the two best returners ever, but it speaks to the potential Jones has as a returner.
 

BigSoxFan

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His comps from draft experts were both Dante Hall and Devin Hester. Now that may be too high of a praise for him considering those are the two best returners ever, but it speaks to the potential Jones has as a returner.
Dante Hall and Devin Hester? I guess I’d take that…
 

Gash Prex

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So long as N'Keal Harry never lines up to take another punt return I'll be happy with the outcome.
 

GB5

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Aug 26, 2013
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If he is a great kick off returner they will just boot it out of back of end zone.