New York Giants Draft Countdown: Making the Case for CB Byron Jones

At each of his press gatherings this offseason, New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese has made no secret of the fact that the team has an interest in adding more playmakers.

Naturally, the assumption when one thinks of a “playmaker” is a wide receiver, especially given the success the Giants enjoyed last year after drafting receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

However, what if by “playmaker” Reese, at least this year, is referencing taking a playmaking defensive back in order to help new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in his quest to restore some respectability to the league’s 29th-ranked defense in 2014?

That playmaking defensive back could be UConn’s Byron Jones (6’1”, 199 lbs), who, despite missing part of his senior season with a shoulder injury, is NFL Draft Scout’s third-best cornerback, and Dane Brugler projects him as a first- or second-round pick in his 2015 NFL Draft Guide.  

Cornering the Market: a Recent Giants Draft History

Since Reese became the Giants general manager, New York has drafted a cornerback at least once in the first three rounds of the draft in four of Reese's eight draft classes.

Year	Player	Round Taken
2007	Aaron Ross	1st
2008	Terrell Thomas	2nd
2011	Prince Amukamara	1st
2012	Jayron Hosley	3rd

In each case, the Giants faced a situation where they had to begin planning for the future, with Ross and Thomas replacing aging veterans Sam Madison and nickelback R.W. McQuarters, and Amukamara replacing Ross several years later.

Right now, the Giants find themselves with no proven young depth who might one day be able to replace Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who just turned 29 years old earlier this month.   

Jayron Hosley has not really panned out and could have a tough time of things sticking on the roster this yer, especially if the Giants do draft another cornerback.

Trumaine McBride, projected to be the new slot cornerback, turns 30 in September. He has played well since joining the Giants in 2013, but he’s not the long-term answer.

Then there are younger players like Chandler Fenner, Bennett Jackson, Mike Harris and Chykie Brown.

However, Jackson, who is coming off microfracture surgery, is a question mark as far as when he'll be ready for on-field work. Brown, meanwhile, confirmed that he will be converting to safety. 

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There is one other factor that needs to be mentioned, and that is Amukamara’s contract status.

The Giants made the decision to pick up Amukamara’s option year on his rookie deal.

That decision will cost them $6.898 million against their 2015 cap, a number that just so happens to be the team’s sixth-highest cap figure, according to Over the Cap.

That wouldn’t be bad considering that Amukamara has shown signs of being on the verge of becoming one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.

The problem is that Amukamara has made it through just one full season (2013) as a pro, which could be why, as ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported, the Giants seem willing to let Amukamara play out his contract rather than locking him up on a long-term contract. 

The Case for Byron Jones

The current picture at cornerback is exactly why it makes sense on so many levels for the Giants to grab a cornerback by the end of Day 2.

An ideal fit both in terms of talent and value for the Giants’ 40th overall pick in the draft—if he's still there for the taking—is Byron Jones, who started 38 of the 43 games in which he played for the Huskies.

Season	Pos	Games	Total Tackles	TFL/Yds	Passes Defensed	INT/Yds
2011	S	12	51	--	4	2 / 0
2012	S	12	88	1.5 / 2	2	1 / 0
2013	CB	12	60	2 / 5	8	3 / 7
2014	CB	7	24	--	4	2 / 70
TOTALS		43	223	3.5 / 7	18	8 / 77

Initially, Jones played his first two seasons of college ball at safety. According to Rob Rang of NFL Draft Scout, Jones moved to cornerback in 2013 after teammates Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson left for the NFL.

In two seasons as a cornerback, Jones played just 19 games, losing part of the 2014 season due to a left shoulder injury, for which he needed surgery.

Despite his abbreviated 2014 season, Jones was more than impressive.

Sam Monson of College Football Focus noted that Jones finished 2014 with a 26.3 NFL rating, the best mark for cornerback in the FBS. Monson also noted that Jones, who allowed 12 receptions for 123 yards, did not give up a touchdown pass.  

There is a lot to like about Jones, a top performer at the NFL combine in several drills, including his 12'3" broad jump that, per NFL.com's Bryan Fischer, is believed to have broken a 46-year-old world record.

The first thing that jumps out on film is his size—he holds his own against taller, physical receivers and plays them aggressively, especially when he’s deployed in press coverage.

Because Jones played safety for two seasons, he has that enforcer mentality ingrained in his fabric. When he tackles, he brings it full force, wrapping up ball-carriers via fundamentally sound technique.

Jones also does a nice job of staying stride for stride with receivers, making use of the sideline as an extra “defender” by challenging receivers to stay in bounds if they should drift near the sideline on a passing pattern. 

Jones is no stranger with the ball in his hands either. Of his eight career interceptions, he averaged 9.6 yards per return, one of which he returned 70 yards for a touchdown in 2014. 

A football enthusiast, who, per Brugler, is always looking for ways to gain the competitive edge, Jones possesses solid instincts that allow him to anticipate where the ball is going, even if his back is to the quarterback.

A team captain as a senior, Jones possesses many of the qualities and intangibles the Giants have been looking for in their draft picks the last two years.

In addition to his natural athletic skills and solid work ethic, he is a high-character guy that is extremely mature and intelligent for a 22-year-old.

Jones’ quest for excellence and his strong desire to learn should not only help him adapt to a new defensive system, he should also be able to pick up the nuances of playing special teams, an area where his college snaps were limited. 

Besides his athleticism and skill set, Jones’ love of the game and his willingness to work at turning whatever weaknesses he might have into strengths makes him too tempting for the Giants to pass up if he should fall to No. 40.

Additional scouting report information obtained from Dane Brugler’s 2015 NFL Draft Guide, powered by NFLDraftScout.com and by the Sports Xchange. Salary-cap information is from Over the Cap; NFL combine results are from NFL.com.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and other information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. 

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