Texas A&M standout cornerback Jaylon Jones declares for NFL Draft

Texas A&M junior cornerback Jaylon Jones announced Sunday night that he is declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Jones appeared in 32 total games in his three seasons in his three seasons in College Station, starting all of them. At the cornerback position, Jones was responsible for 98 tackles,17 pass deflections, three interceptions, and fumble recovery.

Jones, a former five-star prospect, signed with the Aggies in the 2020 class. He was rated as the No. 26 overall prospect and No. 3 cornerback prospect in the nation.

Jones is the first departure to the NFL for the Aggies

Jones is the first member of the Texas A&M Aggies to declare for the NFL Draft, however there are more expected. Star running back Devon Achane sits at the top of the list of who the Aggies are waiting to hear on. Fellow defensive backs Demani Richardson and Antonio Johnson are also expected to headed to the NFL.

NFLDraftBuzz.com ranks Jones as the No. 8 cornerback prospect in the upcoming draft and projects him as a day two draft pick (2nd-3rd round). Antonio Johnson is No. 4.

Outside of NFL declarations, there have been 12 other players who have announced they will leave the program through the transfer portal. That brings the total of players leaving Texas A&M this offseason to 13 of December 4.

Thank you, Texas A&M.
God Bless and Gig’Em! pic.twitter.com/x8I55JAgro

— Jaylon Jones (@OriginalJaylon) December 5, 2022

More on the 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft takes place from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City, Missouri. The event location this year is the plaza just outside of Union Station.

Round 1 of the NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 27. Rounds 2-3 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 28, and Rounds 4-7 will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 29. The draft broadcast runs throughout the weekend on both ESPN and NFL Network.

To be eligible for the NFL Draft, players must be at least three years removed from their final year of high school while having used up their collegiate eligibility. Underclassmen are able to request league approval to become eligible for the draft, as are players who have graduated prior to using up all of their collegiate eligibility. One hundred underclassmen gained approval for last year’s draft. Seventy-three of those 100 underclassmen received special eligibility while 27 of them were underclassmen who had completed their college degrees.

The 2023 NFL scouting combine will take place from Feb. 28 through March 6 in Indianapolis.