Sidney Jones tore his Achilles tendon at Washington’s pro day. Is he still worth an early pick in the 2017 NFL Draft?
Sidney Jones was set to be an early first round draft pick. That’s not much of a surprise when many scouts have compared him to Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters. Unfortunately, his pro day came around. During one of his first drop backs in the workout, Jones tore his Achilles tendon. As Chiefs’ fans know from experience over the last few years, this is an injury that could cost him his rookie season. While it’s horrible news for Jones, it could work out for the Chiefs because now instead of being an early first round pick, he likely won’t be drafted until the second round at best.
Before his injury, most of the best draft experts had Jones ranked high on their board. Mike Mayock of NFL Network had him listed as the number one corner in the draft. At 6’0, he fits the mold of a corner the Chiefs like to go for. He’s got a small frame right now, but a year or two in an NFL weight room will fill him out nicely. To go with that bigger corner frame is his aggressiveness at the line. He has a solid punch to receivers that knock them off their route from the get go when in press coverage. He doesn’t stop at the one shot though, he uses every bit of those first five yards to get a receiver off their route as much as possible. He would fit right into the type of man coverage style the Chiefs run.
While his aggressiveness to the man at the snap is great, his ball hawking abilities are what sets him apart from the rest. Like his former Washington Huskies teammate Marcus Peters, he has a nose for the ball anytime it comes his way. He has a high football IQ that he uses to dissect a route before the play starts. He also has the speed and quick hips that allow him to move on routes and close on the ball. Watching film, there were many times every game where he seemed to come out of nowhere to either knock the ball away or pick it off.
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Peters definitely has better hands than Jones. Don’t get me wrong, Jones snagged nine interceptions in college so he can catch, but he dropped at least five more than Peters would have grabbed. I think you can put him in front of a Jugs machine every day after practice and improve his hands. If that didn’t get it, I’m sure the ribbing of his buddy would keep him focused. Having former teammates in college on the same team can be a great motivator.
You can’t have any Jones review without mentioned the elephant in the room: his injury. He had no major injuries during his four years as a starter at Washington. This all changed when he went down untouched during his pro day. But we’ve seen players at Arrowhead comeback from this type of injury. Derrick Johnson returned from his first Achilles tear and was as good as always. The risk you take with Jones is the same one that came with DJ, that the odds of a second tear increases a lot. There is also the question of how well does he recover. Will he bounce back and be his old self the way DJ was, or will it hamper him in the future?
Now Jones says he will play this year despite the injury and recovery time. Despite the fact his injury is not as severe as either of DJ’s tears, he still tore his tendon. I would not expect him to be able to start the season, but I could see him being able to play by the middle of the season. That missed time and risk of will he be himself when he returns will keep teams away. This means he will be available to the Chiefs in the first round and maybe even available in the second.
I still want the Chiefs to take a quarterback in the first. But, if the quarterback they want is not available, then I hope they consider Jones. They have the medical staff that has proven to be able to recover an Achilles injury as well as the time to let it heal. When he’s ready to play he would give the Chiefs the best cornerback duo in the league from day one. Any quarterback would have nightmares of trying throwing to either Jones’ or Peters’ side. We don’t have any needs that demand a first round talent to be drafted. Like Peters and Chris Jones slid down to the Chiefs the last two drafts, Jones could do the same this year. If a possible All Pro falls in my lap, I’m not about to give him away.
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