No cornerback was better than New England Patriots rookie Jack Jones in Week 4, according to Pro Football Focus.
It was an afternoon of firsts for Jones in the Patriots’ road game against the Green Bay Packers—first NFL start, first NFL touchdown, first fumble recovery and first interception (pick-six).
It didn’t matter that he was staring down one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, either. The rookie stepped onto the field in a tough environment and looked like a legitimate lockdown corner against the Packers.
His PFF grades were absolutely ridiculous this week with him taking the top spot from teammate, Jonathan Jones, as the highest-graded cornerback in the league (88.5).
Keep in mind, the sample size is smaller considering it was only his first NFL start, but regardless, it’s a promising sign for the fourth-round draft pick.
Obviously a small sample size and there are some caveats, but Patriots rookie Jack Jones now is the highest-graded corner by @PFF and has the highest coverage grade.
Jonathan Jones dropped to 10th after being first last week pic.twitter.com/dpXWcftUOy
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandallNESN) October 3, 2022
Jack also topped the list of qualified rookie defenders, and his 94.9 Week 4 coverage grade was the “fifth-highest single mark by a rookie corner in the PFF era,” per NESN’s Zack Cox.
For all of the talk surrounding coach Bill Belichick’s draft blunders, it certainly looks like he might have struck gold with Jack Jones.
