Daniel Jones NFL Draft Prospect Report

 

Number four on the quarterback countdown is Duke’s Daniel Jones. He’s rated below Drew Lock on almost every site, but I like him more than Lock.

Introduction

Jones measured in at 6’5” and 221 pounds. He ran the 40 in 4.81 seconds. Jones did the 3 cone drill in 7 seconds and the 20 yard shuttle in 4.41 seconds. He was a three year starter at Duke. Two out of those three years he threw above a 60 percent completion percentage. Those years being his freshman and junior season.

While his sophomore years are a little concerning, Duke is a bad football team. Their historic success on the court does not translate to the field. They were still  8-5 his freshman year. Then Jones lead the Blue Devils to a  7-6 record his sophomore year. Finally he put together an 8-5 season this past year his junior year.

Lack of help

Just to drive home how bad Duke’s overall talent is, they haven’t had a player drafted since 2015, a year before Jones was at Duke. With literally no NFL talent around him he turned them into a winning football team. I harp on the lack of talent around him because there are a ton of dropped passes in the film I watch. These are easy passes, very catchable balls.

Positives

Daniel Jones is a great athlete, he moves very well and looks natural in his motions. He knows when to run, but will have to cut down on that in the NFL. He also extended quite a few pass plays with his athleticism. Finally he throws pretty well on the move.

He’s also got a strong arm, he’s no Drew Lock, but he has above average NFL arm strength. He also puts good air underneath his throws when he needs to, showing good touch. Jones leads his receivers well too, hits them on the run. One of the things that Jones does best is look off receivers. He has great head and eye work to look off coverage. Then he makes quick reads and goes through his progression quickly, very important in the NFL.

Negatives

Daniel Jones has a lot of passes batted at the line, enough to where to stands out. He needs to find the lanes better, especially with his height. His decision making also needs some work. He throws too many 50/50 balls. Jones can also put the ball up when he’s under pressure. He needs to learn that sometimes you just have to take the sack. He also played very poorly against Miami, but he was playing in a monsoon.

Predictions

Jones is an accurate passer, a lot more accurate than his numbers show. He also has great size and great athleticism. Jones seems to have benefited from having the Mannings’ quarterback coach, David Cutcliffe, in college. His numbers aren’t eye popping, but when you realize he had zero NFL talent around him, his numbers and wins are actually pretty good. Duke had a bad offensive line and was constantly giving up pressure. He also had no good receivers to throw to or running backs to keep defenses honest. Despite everything against him, Jones looked good playing. I think if he gets actual NFL talent around him he can do very well. I like him.

 

Draft Dive Grade: 1st round

 

Likely Landing Spots: The usual places, but Jones might be more NFL ready than Drew Lock, ready to start his rookie year. New England Patriots, Los Angeles Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, and the New York Giants are possible landing spots.