3 reasons the Buffalo Bills should target Marcus Jones in middle rounds
By Theo Bachman
Marcus Jones has been one of the best cornerbacks in college football the last couple of years. After spending his first two seasons at Troy, he transferred to Houston and finished as the fifth-best graded cornerback, according to PFF. Jones punctuated his career with an outstanding season, making five interceptions and forcing 16 incompletions which tied for second in the country.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Marcus Jones’s strengths lie in his speed and athleticism. One of the quickest players in college football; he has fluid hips that allow him to effortless move down the field with defenders. Despite being just 5 feet 8 inches, Jones makes up for it by being a relentless defender in the run game and flying across the field to make tackles. Often picked on by opposing offenses because of his size, Jones’s traits and coverage ability allowed him to stay on the field as an outside corner despite his size disadvantage.
Jones still needs to work on his technique. When in press coverage, he was often beaten off the line, but with his speed, he could close the gap so quickly that it didn’t matter. Because of his size, most people are instantly relegating him to the slot but what he put on film makes me think he deserves a chance to play outside, where I think he could have a Brent Grimes level impact.
While his size wasn’t always an issue, it was against bigger wide receivers at the catch point. It’s a shame because he would typically be in a perfect position to make a play and would just get outgunned at the catch point. However, his positioning did afford him to draw some offensive pass interference calls, and sometimes his elite jumping ability was enough to make a play on the ball.
With the departure of Levi Wallace, it is likely the Bills will be targeting the cornerback position in the 2021 NFL Draft. Because of his size, Jones will likely fall to the third or fourth round, where I think he could become a very intriguing prospect for the Buffalo Bills. Here are three reasons why I believe Marcus Jones would be a great fit in Buffalo.