Oakland Raiders' Offensive Artillery: Taiwan Jones

Taiwan Jones finally got the opportunity to show what he could do against the New Orleans Saints. After the game was over, I was left wondering if there was anything that Mr. Jones could not do.

Taiwan showcased his elite speed breaking down the sideline on a 22-yard touchdown run. He was consistently clocked from the high 4.2s to low 4.3s in the 40-yard dash. That kind of speed has impressed onlookers at camp including Darren McFadden. That is saying a lot.

All told on the evening, Jones had 81 rushing yards on just 13 carries in his first ever NFL action. It was a heck of a debut for a kid that just recently returned to practice.   

Taiwan put up impressive numbers while at Eastern Washington University that included a 2009 season where he tallied 2,345 all-purpose yards. In 2010, he needed to up the ante so he went for 2,421 all-purpose yards that included 1,742 yards rushing. His 2010 season could have been even more impressive had he not missed the final two games with a broken bone in his foot.

Taiwan Jones is undoubtedly explosive, but his big-play ability has sometimes come at the expense of his health in the past. In 2009, Jones battled through injuries to his hand, hip flexors, both shoulders and had a sports hernia surgery. In 2010, he lost the final two playoff games to a broken bone in his foot.

He has also had ball-security issues as he fumbled 18 times in his last three seasons. This is something that running backs coach Kelly Skipper will undoubtedly be in the rookies' ear about. All that being said, when you watch the Saints game, his electrifying ability seems to jump right off the screen. He has an uncanny ability to slide past would be tacklers or juke them out of the play entirely.

When forced to the edge, he seems to have a way of increasing his body lean and exploding up field before getting to the sideline. He is a slippery back with an arsenal of moves.  

When one play started to the right and was stacked up, he instinctively cut back across the grain and broke loose for a nice gain. His acceleration is smooth and appears almost effortless.

During his college career, in 24 career games, he averaged 7.9 yards per carry. When you factor in his kick returns, Jones averaged a touchdown every 12 times he touched the football. Even in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), those numbers are impressive.

It appears the things that scared away teams from drafting him earlier were the conference he played in, his injury history and ball-security issues. Judging from what he's done in the past and in his first NFL game, I would have to say Oakland appears fortunate to have picked him up in the fourth round.

If Jones can stay healthy and even add a little bulk after this season, he could be part of one of the greatest backfield combinations to ever play the game. Teamed with Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, this trio presents heart attack-grade stress for opposing defensive coordinators.

With the improvements on the offensive line, and if all three backs can stay healthy, it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers they can put up.