Player Spotlight: Felix Jones

Vintage · Oct 9, 2008

These are pre-draft comments on Felix Jones

4. FELIX JONES, Arkansas (5-10, 210, 4.45, 1-2) - Played behind McFadden for three years, getting 386 carries to McFadden's 785. "If Felix Jones played for West Virginia," said Polian, "you'd be talking about him in the same breath as Mendenhall and Stewart. He only suffers by comparison to the guy he's playing with." Averaged 7.7 yards per carry, second in NCAA history behind Army's Glenn Davis (8.3) from 1943-'46. Averaged 8.7 in '07, gaining 1,162 yards. "There's some similarities to Reggie (Bush)," said Rick Reiprish, New Orleans' director of college scouting. "Reggie is so quick but Jones might be a little faster." Happy-go-lucky personality. Excels on kickoff returns. "You can put him at wideout, the slot, running back," Brocato said. "He's tough. He runs inside. I think he can (carry the load)." Others see him as a change-of-pace back. "A very competitive runner who doesn't like to go down," said Eric DeCosta, Baltimore's director of college scouting. "He fights for yards all the time. If he was there in the second round he'd be excellent value." Wonderlic score of 22.
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Analysis Positives: Has a lean frame, but shows good muscle development and bubble, well-defined thighs and calves, large hands, wide back and room to carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk with no loss of quickness...Has excellent quickness and explosion coming out of his stance into the rush lanes...Demonstrates the feet and balance to pick his way through trash and stay upright after initial contact...Has pick-and-slide agility to make tacklers miss, especially when he turns the corner...Plays with good toughness and competitiveness, as he will lower his head and square his shoulders to drive through after contact...Not really a punishing runner, but easily bounces off tackles and gives second effort when the rush lane is clogged...Self-starter and hard worker in the training room and will put in extra time watching film...Mature with good field intelligence and vision...Has a good attitude, as he never complained about sharing the rush load, despite his obvious pedigree...Has the sudden moves out of his stance to gain advantage and the quickness to avoid and accelerate past defenders...Shows a natural feel for the crease and displays excellent vision and hip swerve as he weaves through traffic, picking his feet nicely over trash...Hits the hole with no hesitation, showing the explosive leg drive to break arm tackles, as he works hard to get upfield inside and clear the line of scrimmage...Has a low center of gravity, which allows him to keep his base moving through tight areas and does not need to gear down when cutting...Instinctive in his movements, displaying the vision to see threats...Uses his blocks well...When he keeps his pad level low going through the rush lane, he has the short-area explosion and juke moves to elude defenders turning the corner, as he excels at cutting sharply with good acceleration...Has the body control and foot agility to step and slide on his way to avoid tackles...Has made strides in being more patient to let his blocks develop, showing a good feel for the hole and vision to spot the seam in the zone...Can find the inside hole but will run a little upright doing this and he knows how to adjust on the move, using impressive pick, slide and acceleration through the holes...Has the balance needed to keep his feet and shows a sharp burst out of his cuts...Has outstanding lateral range to gain yards in chunks on outside runs, utilizing excellent change-of-direction agility to can freeze defenders with fakes and body lean...As a junior, he displayed much better ball security and the hands to handle pitchouts (had problems grabbing the ball on the fly and running with it in 2006, resulting in five fumbles, compared to one in 2007)...Has improved his patience waiting for the toss to develop before trying to burst through the seam or turn the corner...One of his better assets is his ability to accelerate into the second level, redirect and break away for the long run...Very fast-twitched runner when attacking the hole and, while he might go down on first contact at times, he has that vision to locate small seams, sink his pads and try to slip past...Has the ability to jump-cut and shoot upfield...Has a very good feel to anticipate where the rushing lanes are and does a good job of keeping his pad level to break arm tackles around the corner (not as effective running inside)...Adequate pass catcher who shows good concentration and flexibility in his pass routes, extending his hands properly away from the framework, but will use his body as a crutch when working in a crowd...Makes good body adjustments toward the ball and shows patience, body control and vision waiting for blocks to develop as a returner...Best asset as a kickoff returner is that he creative enough to vary his speed, set up the defender, execute a fake and then accelerate into the open.

Negatives: Has to learn to run at a lower pad level when running through the inside holes...Will get erect in his stance as an attempt to squeeze through tight areas...Has good leg drive, but will make bigger gains when trying to avoid, as he is generally brought down on the initial hit when operating in a crowd...He had just 22 runs on which the opposition needed more than one defender to take him down on 133 attempts in 2007...Elusive runner who does a good job of squaring up before initial contact, but must improve his body lean, as he does not do a good job of falling forward...Pitter-patter running style will see him get up on his toes...Just an adequate receiver who needs route-running refinement, as he tends to round his cuts...While he shows good hands on returns, as a receiver, he does not get to the ball at its highest point and can get a little sloppy trying to explode out of his breaks...Despite showing aggression as a blocker, his size prevents him from gaining leverage vs. bigger defenders (will get a piece of his man, but his weight-room strength fails to translate to the field, as he is not the type that can overpower second-level defenders).

Compares To: CARNELL WILLIAMS-Tampa Bay...Both are best taking the ball outside. Jones is a water bug on the field, excelling at avoiding defenders when he clears the line of scrimmage. He has a Devin Hester-type of burst as a kickoff returner and has worked well within the two-back system. Team him up with a powerful inside runner and you will get better value. We doubt his frame can handle pounding associated with touching the ball 30 times a game at the next level, especially if he doesn't learn how to run at a lower pad level between the tackles. He greatly improved his ball-security ability as a junior, something that turned out to be a major problem for his running mate, Darren McFadden. Some teams might prefer Jones over McFadden, as he has greater avoidance skills, while McFadden is more likely to seek contact and has a few off-field issues to be investigated.
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NFL.com

Vintage · Oct 9, 2008

Felix Jones highlights against Packers:

[video=youtube;aSjE1JjVxPw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSjE1JjVxPw[/video]

Felix Jones 98 yard TD return:

[video=youtube;JmvL0fe91Kc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmvL0fe91Kc[/video]

Felix Jones Highlights; Preseason game against Chargers:

[video=youtube;avWs9cvHtrg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avWs9cvHtrg[/video]

Felix Jones' TD run against Cinci

[video=youtube;S5sVKxcPTpc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5sVKxcPTpc[/video]

Felix Jones highlights:

[video=youtube;foywLi7UzWM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foywLi7UzWM[/video]

GMJ · Oct 9, 2008

sexy, and to think that I really really hated this pick come draft time. In Garrett I trust.

bacon smeller · Oct 9, 2008

The Cowboys have been successful in picking their running backs. From Emmit Smith to Marion Barber and Felix Jones. I think that Jerry Jones is a good GM.

Vintage · Oct 9, 2008

GMJ said: ↑

sexy, and to think that I really really hated this pick come draft time. In Garrett I trust.
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In our scouts, you trust....

I remember us going back and forth pre-draft about Felix. I got the two players I wanted. Made me happy. Though Bennett wasn't overly exciting for me.

Vintage · Oct 9, 2008

bacon smeller said: ↑

The Cowboys have been successful in picking their running backs. From Emmit Smith to Marion Barber and Felix Jones. I think that Jerry Jones is a good GM.
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So do I. It looks like he really has learned his lesson (from the 90s) with Parcells' help.

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