FOXBORO, Mass. — Jonathan Jones is one of the smallest players on the practice field for the New England Patriots at just 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, but he’s tough to miss at training camp.
The undrafted rookie cornerback out of Auburn, who ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, might be the fastest player on the Patriots, and he’s using it to his advantage at cornerback and on special teams.
“Jonathan’s really done a good job,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Thursday. “He’s been out there every day, he works hard, he’s fast, he’s tough, and obviously played in a good conference (SEC). You can see his speed in that conference, which there’s a lot of speed on the other side of the ball, too, to see it against. He learns well. He’s a great kid. He works hard. He’ll do whatever you ask him to do. He’s done a good job. He’s showed up in the kicking game, so I think he’s been very competitive.”
He certainly has. Jones is now 4 and 1 in 1-on-1 drills against wide receivers this summer, losing his only battle during Day 7 of training camp. He appears to be penciled in as the No. 5 cornerback on the roster, and it didn’t take him long to pass veteran E.J. Biggers and 2015 seventh-round draft pick Darryl Roberts on the depth chart.
Jones was graded by some draft analysts as a fourth-round pick, but the Patriots wisely scooped him up after he fell out of the draft entirely. It appears for now the Patriots have found yet another undrafted steal at cornerback.
Thumbnail photo via Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
