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While the Cowboys' defense earned plenty of praise for its play last season, the team's defensive backs have often been forgotten in that conversation.
However, Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently recognized cornerback Byron Jones as "one of the NFL's best cornerbacks in 2018."
Jones earned an overall grade of 83.1 from PFF for his play last year. He is ranked seventh out of 131 qualified cornerbacks.
Jones completed his first full season at cornerback in 2018 after playing mostly safety for the Cowboys in his first three seasons in the NFL. The UConn product had his best season yet last year with the change in position, earning his first career 80.0-plus overall grade from PFF.
"Yes, Jones is freakishly athletic, but he can also have an impact in the middle of the field, which is why he was used as a safety in the first place," wrote PFF's Daniel Rymer. "However, he brought that toughness over from the safety position and used it as a cornerback and terrorized wide receivers in 2018."
Jones helped the Cowboys earn the seventh-best team coverage grade (89.6) in 2018, an improvement from the team's 15th overall finish in 2017.
Other numbers from Jones' performance in 2018 that stand out include quarterbacks targeting him once every 8.8 cover snaps, resulting in him being the eighth-most avoided cornerback in the NFL, and him giving up a reception just once every 16.5 cover snaps, eighth among cornerbacks.
As he enters his fifth season in the league, Jones has also shown that he can compete with NFL wide receivers. "Jones allowed just 0.78 yards per cover snap, ranking seventh among cornerbacks, and he had a forced incompletion rate of 24.5% that ranked sixth," Rymer wrote. "Additionally, Jones allowed a reception just once every 17.1 press-coverage snaps, ranking fourth at the position. Evidently, Jones is an absolute monster when he's in the wide receiver's face at the snap."
The former first-round pick recorded a career-high 14 pass deflections last season and started all 16 games for the the third straight year. He also played the most defensive snaps of any Cowboy in 2018 (1,019) and earned his first career Pro Bowl appearance.
Jones' success last year came in his first season playing cornerback in the NFL. Just imagine what he'll be able to do in year two.
However, Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently recognized cornerback Byron Jones as "one of the NFL's best cornerbacks in 2018."
Jones earned an overall grade of 83.1 from PFF for his play last year. He is ranked seventh out of 131 qualified cornerbacks.
Jones completed his first full season at cornerback in 2018 after playing mostly safety for the Cowboys in his first three seasons in the NFL. The UConn product had his best season yet last year with the change in position, earning his first career 80.0-plus overall grade from PFF.
"Yes, Jones is freakishly athletic, but he can also have an impact in the middle of the field, which is why he was used as a safety in the first place," wrote PFF's Daniel Rymer. "However, he brought that toughness over from the safety position and used it as a cornerback and terrorized wide receivers in 2018."
Jones helped the Cowboys earn the seventh-best team coverage grade (89.6) in 2018, an improvement from the team's 15th overall finish in 2017.
Other numbers from Jones' performance in 2018 that stand out include quarterbacks targeting him once every 8.8 cover snaps, resulting in him being the eighth-most avoided cornerback in the NFL, and him giving up a reception just once every 16.5 cover snaps, eighth among cornerbacks.
As he enters his fifth season in the league, Jones has also shown that he can compete with NFL wide receivers. "Jones allowed just 0.78 yards per cover snap, ranking seventh among cornerbacks, and he had a forced incompletion rate of 24.5% that ranked sixth," Rymer wrote. "Additionally, Jones allowed a reception just once every 17.1 press-coverage snaps, ranking fourth at the position. Evidently, Jones is an absolute monster when he's in the wide receiver's face at the snap."
The former first-round pick recorded a career-high 14 pass deflections last season and started all 16 games for the the third straight year. He also played the most defensive snaps of any Cowboy in 2018 (1,019) and earned his first career Pro Bowl appearance.
Jones' success last year came in his first season playing cornerback in the NFL. Just imagine what he'll be able to do in year two.