Indianapolis Colts select Jaylon Jones in 7th round of 2023 NFL Draft

Following his time making an impact on Texas A&M’s defense, Jaylon Jones knows where he will continue his football career. Jones has been selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Jones took the field immediately as a true freshman in 2020 and made an impact. He played in nine games as a true freshman, recording 30 tackles, one for loss, and had one interception to go along with six pass deflections. He followed that up with his best statistical season of his career. In 2021, Jones had 35 tackles, one for loss, two interceptions and four pass deflections, raising his stock as a player.

In 2022, what ended up his final year at Texas A&M, Jones had 33 tackles, two pass deflections and a fumble recovery. Jones was a crucial part of Texas A&M’s defense this past season but did battle injury at time. Against Mississippi State early in the season, Jones suffered an injury and did not return to the game. The Aggies went on to lose that game by 18 points and head coach Jimbo Fisher made it clear that the absence of Jones was felt.

“I’m going to say this: It doesn’t help when you lose one of your best, best players or the best, tremendous corner you have,” Fisher said. “It doesn’t help in that. But again, that’s football and that happens. You have plans for that and you have contingencies and you have other players you have to play and they’re good players.”

What NFL Draft Analysts are saying about Jaylon Jones

Coming into the draft, Jones caught the eye of NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein. While Zierlein did not have a player comparison for Jones, he did note in his analysis what he liked and disliked about Jones’ game on the field.

“Big, long cornerback with imposing size but a lack of functional footwork and route anticipation to stay connected to NFL route runners,” Zierlein wrote. “Jones can be lackadaisical with his technique, so improving in that area could play a big role in bolstering his coverage consistency. He might lack the long speed for foot races in press-man work so Cover 2 and Cover 3 could be his coverage destination thanks to his size and potential physicality, but a move to safety should not be out of the question.”