Former NC State safety Josh Jones admitted when he appeared on The Wolfpacker Podcast March 27 that he heard the doubters when he declared for the NFL Draft, leaving his final year of collegiate eligibility on the table.
Since that life-changing decision, Jones was one of the stars of the NFL Combine and sent draft analysts everywhere scrambling for NC State game tapes. After taking a closer look, many have been impressed with what they have seen upon closer review — and Jones has been one of the late risers in the pre-draft process among the media experts that cover the draft, which will be held April 27-29 in Philadelphia.
No matter how much Jones was on NFL teams’ radars before the combine, there is no doubt he has their attention now. His pro day workout March 20 drew several high-level professional coaches, including Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers, Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards, Lions defensive backs coach Tony Oden and Bengals defensive backs coach Robert Livingston, according to NFL.com.
Since then, he has taken several visits to professional clubs, which is significant because each team can only bring in 30 prospects for pre-draft visits. According to an April 11 interview with SiriusXM’s Alex Marvez, Jones has taken six trips, including to the Dolphins and Steelers, and has three more — the Panthers, Jets and Redskins — scheduled.
CBS Sports/NFLDraftScout.com senior analyst Dane Brugler is one of the notable experts very bullish on Jones’ chances to hear his name called early in the second round. In his 201-page NFL Draft guide, he ranked Jones as the No. 6 safety in what he has called a very deep position group and No. 52 overall regardless of position, bestowing a solid second-round grade on the versatile defensive back.
“I think he wasn’t a guy that was looked at as a no-brainer underclassman to come out, so because of that he was not really on the forefront of people’s radars,” the expert explained. “But after he came out and I studied him in January, I immediately tweeted out to keep an eye on this guy; he’s going to be a riser and is very athletic.
“Once Josh moved to free safety this past year from strong safety, I think things really opened up for him. Spending most of his time on the boundary, you saw his production sky rocket — he had over 100 tackles, he showed up in coverage with three interceptions and then of course what he did at the combine.”
In his latest mock draft that posted on CBSSports.com April 11, Brugler has the Chicago Bears tabbing Jones with the 36th pick, the fourth selection of the second round. He compares Jones favorably to one of his former ACC rivals, Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey, a two-time All-American on the college level who was named to the Pro Football Writers Association’s All-Rookie team after being selected fifth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“He’s not Jalen Ramsey when he came out of Florida State, but he was used in a similar way at times,” Brugler said. “He did a little bit of everything, from [playing] linebacker to the way he was used in coverage, there’s just a lot to like about him. When you talk about his size — 6-1½, 220 — he’s a legit 4.4 athlete, you don’t see guys like this very often. These types of athletes don’t grow on trees, so I think Josh Jones will be one of the top five to six safeties off the board, somewhere on day two.
“To me, he belongs in the second round.”
Brugler also shared his thoughts on second-team All-ACC running back Matt Dayes, a well-rounded rusher who he ranked as the No. 17 player available at his position with a fifth-round grade. He said Dayes doesn’t have any truly elite areas, but his skills as a receiver will be his ticket to finding a spot on an NFL roster and earning playing time.
He noted that unlike Jones, Dayes did not shine in the pre-draft testing process — he declined to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and at his pro day. However, according to Brugler, Dayes’ senior year film, where he became the first NCSU rusher to top 1,000 yards since 2002, was impressive, especially given the foot injury he had to come back from after having his junior campaign cut short.
“Although he doesn’t have a distinguishing trait that separates him as a runner, Dayes’ reliability as a receiver is what could land him on a NFL roster — might be a third-down option if he improves his ball security and blocking,” he concluded in his draft guide.
Meanwhile, Jack Tocho was projected to be right on the draft bubble by Brugler, who listed the Charlotte native as the draft’s No. 34 cornerback with a priority free agent grade. However, the No. 33 cornerback was projected as a seventh-round selection — and it only takes one team to like a player enough to draft him — which shows the razor-thin margin that separates the best undrafted free agents from the late-rounders.
Brugler also ranked graduate transfer center Joe Scelfo, who started his career at South Alabama, as the No. 17 center available in the draft, but only the top six were projected to be drafted.
More of The Wolfpacker’s pre-NFL Draft coverage:
• Podcast: Live at Amedeo’s with draft prospect Josh Jones, Brandan Bishop
• Former NC State safety Josh Jones a top-50 NFL Draft prospect
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