One prospect that the Raiders have shown a significant amount of interest in is Houston cornerback Marcus Jones. But labeling him as a cornerback doesn’t really feel right because he is so much more than that.
During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he was an All-American selection for his return ability. And in 2021, he won the Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player in the country after scoring four return touchdowns and playing offense.
And in a recent article by Todd McShay of ESPN, Jones was labeled one of the best “satellite” players in the class. That translates to the best players in the draft with the ball in their hands. Here is a snippet of McShay’s thoughts on the two-time All-American from Houston:
“In the return game, Jones averaged 28.8 yards per kickoff return over his Houston career, scoring on six returns and taking 18.1% of 72 returns for at least 30 yards. He also scored three times on 63 punt returns while averaging 13.9 yards.
Fourteen of those returns picked up 20-plus yards. He led the country in total return TDs in 2021 (four) and was in the top five in total return yardage (884).
And while he has a smaller catch radius, he had five interceptions last season and has great ball skills, meaning he has opportunities to make plays on defense in space, too. He should be a mid-round pick.”
The Raiders already have a slot cornerback in Nate Hobbs, but that could change as he could be moving to the outside. Hobbs is a bit undersized for an outside cornerback, but he could certainly handle it with his incredible explosion and tackling ability.
If that’s the case, it will open up a spot for Jones to play right away. And on top of playing inside in the slot, Jones could take over the return duties from Hunter Renfrow and give them more game-breaking speed in the return game.
If Jones falls to pick No. 86, expect him to be the pick by the Raiders. He is exactly the type of player Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels are trying to bring to Las Vegas.