North Carolina
Ht. 6-4 Wt. 225
Hands: Dwight Jones should be a top pick with his combination of size/athleticism. His hands often fail him which could and should send him plummeting down draft boards. He’s a body catcher that is prone to drops. He can’t be counted on to catch the football in tight spots or down the stretch of games. He can find the ball down the field and does an excellent job of high pointing it to make big plays.
Route Running: Jones is a physical route runner that needs to work on his awareness of coverage. Too often he misses openings in the zone and overruns plays or just flat runs himself out of the play because of bad eyes. He doesn’t run crisply into or out of breaks and in general needs some refinement in this area. He does a nice job of selling his routes and double moves.
After the Catch: Jones is a physical specimen and knows what to do with the ball after he secures the catch. He uses his size in the open field to break tackles and shows surprising athleticism for a big receiver.
Athleticism: Dwight Jones is an underrated athlete as most have a tendency just to look at straight line speed. He’s not a burner but he has a good burst and suddenness to his game which make him dangerous. While he won’t beat NFL DB’s on go routes he can out physical them at the line of scrimmage and uses his leaping ability and big body to shield defenders.
Bottom Line: Jones has all the tangibles but lacks some intangibles to be a real good WR in the NFL. He has the body and athleticism to be a first round pick but he lacks the refinement on simple things to match those skills. His hands are a liability and he doesn’t recognize coverage well enough to be much more than a 3rd or 4th option. There is a high ceiling with Jones but someone is going to have to work at getting the most out of him.
Draft Projection: Jones is a bit of a risk but should go in the third round and could go before that. This scouting report is eerily similar to Jon Baldwin in 2011 and he went in the first. Baldwin has better hands.
