With the draft coming up at the end of the month, we will offer up a breakdown of players at positions of need for the Dallas Cowboys.
Connecticut cornerback Byron Jones
Height: 6 foot, 5/8 inches
Weight 199 pounds
ESPN Insider rank: No. 5 cornerback, No. 47 overall
Games viewed: East Carolina, Michigan (2013), South Florida
Scouting report: If you’re looking for a guy who looks the part, can put up all the numbers you want to see and make some plays, here’s your guy.
He got on my radar with his ridiculous broad jump at the combine, and I wondered if the tape would match the numbers. I’ve come away impressed. With the size and speed your seeing in receivers these days, you need bigger corners. This guy is big and can run.
I was a little surprised he did not match up more directly with East Carolina receiver Justin Hardy, but that could have been East Carolina keeping him away from Jones. Occasionally he would give up the inside too quickly for some easy throws, but he closes fairly well. He played some safety, so I thought he would have some better awareness on deep balls, but again he was OK in that department.
His interception was an athletic marvel. With the quarterback rolling right, Jones stayed with his man and was able to leap high enough to come down with a pass over his head for the turnover. In a perfect world, the quarterback never would have thrown the ball or at least thrown it into the stands, but Jones' 44.5-inch vertical leap was on display.
He did a decent job of plastering his receiver when things broke down.
Against Michigan, his best play was an interception in which he outjumped a taller receiver on a go route. He ran with the receiver, turned to find the ball and made the play. In the screen game, he did a nice job of fending off a block and coming up for a tackle. He looks like a willing tackler. One thing I didn’t like was how soft he played in the end zone, dropping into the end zone on an in cut that should have been a touchdown. He was bailed out by a poor throw from the quarterback.
He had a pick-six against South Florida in which he was slow to react on the hitch, but made a nice adjustment on a batted ball to come down with the ball. He ran through a tackle for the score.
Biggest concern: He seems solid all-around, even though I didn’t see much in the run game. If there is one minor concern, it’s how well he performed at the combine. Am I overrating his play because of the staggering numbers he put up? That’s more my concern than anything he did or didn’t do.
What ESPN Insider is saying about his intangibles: Team captain as a senior. Moved from safety to corner in 2013. Respectful and polite. Good work and practice habits. Learns well. Takes coaching and applies it to the field. Puts in the work in the film room. Quiet by nature and leads by example. Teammates refer to him as a "Senator Jones."
Cowboys fit: If he is there at No. 27, I would have no problem with the Cowboys turning his name in. He is big. He seems to like to be physical and he can also turn and run with guys. He was a safety, which gives him an idea of what the entire secondary is supposed to do, so he is not just closed off to one side of the field. Among the players expected to be available near the end of the first round, I would put him and Kevin Johnson as the top two cornerbacks, based on what I’ve seen so far.