Dallas Cowboys: 4 Players who stunk it up vs. Chargers
By Randy Gurzi
4. Byron Jones, FS
With the No. 27 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys elected to take themselves a workout warrior in defensive back Byron Jones from Connecticut. A guy not necessarily mentioned in first-round talk early in the process, Jones turned heads by putting up eye-popping numbers including an NFL Combine and World Record for the broad-jump when he went 12-feet-3 inches.
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He began his career at cornerback, but dabbled some at the free safety spot. His average-at-best rookie year was defended by many as a “learning experience” as the team hadn’t settled on a single position for him. Entering year two, he was a full-time safety and was supposed to flourish in that role.
Jones did no such thing. He recorded a respectable 88 tackles, but showed little signs of being the playmaker the Cowboys hoped he would be when they selected him in the opening round the year before. Jones has been unable to create turnovers, and has just two picks in his career (one on a Hail Mary that didn’t matter, and the second this season in a blow out win). On Thursday, he again was nothing more than average.
The third-year pro missed several tackles and was unable to make any splash plays once again in a game where his team needed someone athletic to step up and make a play. While the scheme run by defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli deserves a lot of the blame, Jones himself has been a liability and was exposed yet again by a pass-happy team.