Chicago Bears select Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones in 2022 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears are banking on Tennessee product Velus Jones Jr. to come in and give their wide receiving corps a boost. After playing a pivotal role throughout his time in Knoxville, the former Volunteers wide receiver will be expected to do the same in his NFL career.

That’s why the Bears took him off the board in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Friday night, picking him No. 71 overall.

In his five seasons of college football, Jones proved why NFL teams were intrigued by his ability at both USC and Tennessee. Last season, the versatile wide receiver and kick returner helped lay a foundation for first-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, as the Volunteers look primed for good days ahead under their second-year coach.

Moreover, Jones found it tough to carve out a role at USC, only amassing 36 receptions, 348 receiving yards and one touchdown over three seasons with the Trojans. However, Tennessee proved more fruitful for the star wide receiver, as Jones accumulated 84 receptions for 1,087 receiving yards and ten receiving touchdowns in two seasons.

Most importantly to the Bears, Jones brings an innate ability in the return game with him to the NFL. Even when the former Tennessee star was finding receiving opportunities tough to come by, the special teams game allowed him a chance to shine. Over five seasons of college football, the star wide receiver returned 142 kickoffs and punts combined, accumulating 3,245 total return yards and two touchdowns.

A former four-star recruit in the class of 2016, Jones was the No. 71 wide receiver in the nation per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. The former Tennessee star played his high school football at Saraland in Saraland, Alabama. Additionally, Jones was the fourteenth-ranked recruit in Tennessee coming out of high school, and the No. 384 overall recruit in the nation, according to On3’s 2018 Consensus Top Football Recruits.

What NFL draft analysts are saying about Velus Jones Jr.

Furthermore, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com broke down what Velus Jones Jr. can bring to the NFL in his recent scout of the wide receiver’s draft profile. The analyst compared the Tennessee product to Devin Duvernay, the No. 92 overall selection of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens out of Texas.

In his career thus far, Duvernay has amassed 53 receptions for 473 receiving yards, along with 1,660 return yards and four total touchdowns. Additionally, the former Texas star was named a First-team All-Pro in 2021 as a kick returner.

“Special-teams specialist with good size,” started Zierlein. “Despite spending six seasons in college between his time at USC and Tennessee, Jones has very modest production as a wideout, but flashed potential in that area in 2021. He’s fearless with the ball in his hands after the catch and as a kick returner. He’s not a very fundamentally sound route-runner but might not need to be if teams view him as a catch-and-run specialist in the quick game underneath.

“Jones has a chance to ride his special teams versatility into a specialist spot on a roster.”