The New England Patriots knew they needed to add depth at the cornerback position following the departure of J.C. Jackson.
Bill Belichick didn’t go early in the draft, but he did select Marcus Jones in the third round and Jack Jones in the fourth round. Marcus is a utility player out of Houston that can do many different things on the field, ranging from punt returns to even playing some offense. Jack is a gritty cornerback that would’ve likely had a higher draft stock without some of his past off-field issues.
Jack played for two seasons at USC and eventually left after having academic issues and being arrested for breaking into a Panda Express. He later went to Arizona State and did a little better, but was suspended after a fight in practice.
His agent sent a letter to all 32 NFL teams with the ways that he will prevent off-field issues going forward. Belichick bought in and now has a solid cornerback from the lower rounds of the draft.
Herm Edwards was Jack’s college coach and he discussed his former cornerback while talking with ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“It’s a good spot for him, as there will be people there to keep the thumb on him,” Edwards said. “I told him, ‘You’re at a place now where you have to check all the boxes.’ He’s been a handful, but he’s a good kid. Loves football. Loves competing. Once he’s in the building, on the field, he’s all about football now.”
Jack spent some time in mandatory minicamp competing with the starters alongside Jalen Mills. He has real potential to land in the starting lineup as a rookie.
“He’s a very explosive athlete. Very competitive. He has pretty good ball skills, finding and turning and locating the ball,” Edwards said. “He has good anticipation. Sometimes his eyes get him in trouble, because he’s on a mission to intercept balls and he’ll guess a little bit. And weight-wise [177 pounds], you’d wish he’d be a little bit bigger. But he’s not afraid to tackle. He’ll throw his body at people.”
If Jack can avoid off-field issues, he could be a steal for the Patriots in the fourth round.
