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The Chicago Bears stayed put at the 71st spot in the third round and selected WR Velus Jones Jr. out of Tennessee in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Joining Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker, the Bears finally dipped onto the offensive side of the ball with the selection of receiver Jones.
Jones played at Tennessee and USC and didn’t have a ton of big production, topping out at 62 cathces, 807 yards and 7 TDs last season in Knoxville. He is 6’0” and 200 lbs. and ran a 4.31 40 yard dash. He had another 900 combined punt and kick return yards last season. He also returned two kick offs for touchdowns (one in 2019 at USC, one last season).
He has huge returner potential too. Our Jacob Infante called “Jakeem Grant on steroids” on the Livestream.
Here’s how #BearsTwitter reacted to the pick:
Our own Jacob Infante wasn’t crazy about it...
The #Bears finally go offense, adding Tennessee WR Velus Jones Jr. in Round 3.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) April 30, 2022
Really good athlete with great YAC ability who can return kicks very well. He’s an older player who turns 25 in May, but he projects as a great deep threat.
Bears take WR Velus Jones who can fly. Also a returner
— Greg Gabriel (@greggabe) April 30, 2022
How fast is Velus Jones? I didn't get that far down in the board
— Bayek of Sowa (@SowaTheArrogant) April 30, 2022
Welp. We got a WR
— m (@downbadbears) April 30, 2022
Ryan Poles just selected a WR that turns 25 years old next month
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 30, 2022
Very good athlete and he had return ability
Velus Jones Jr. is a WR prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.05 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 249 out of 2613 WR from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/Gf1YWxd22H #RAS pic.twitter.com/JIT1sGN5zF
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 23, 2022
someone give me a reason Velus Jones is better than Danny Gray, Romeo Doubs or Calvin Austin
— Jeremy Layton (@JeremyLayt0n) April 30, 2022
Of course there was some snark too:
Aw he doesn’t play defense. https://t.co/TQECQMzOWP
— Kev (@Kev_WCG) April 30, 2022
Daniel Jeremiah said earlier this month he sees some Deebo-like traits in Velus Jones ...
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) April 30, 2022
"Really sturdy and strong and explosive. Like real, real, real fast. On jet sweeps, you see it in the kick return game with him, as well. Just get him the ball and let him go."
ESPN has Velus ranked at 106... Jalen Tolbert was 74, David Bell 94. #Bears
— Mark Carman (@thecarm) April 30, 2022
Velus Jones had modest production as a WR at USC/Tennessee, peaking in 2021 with 62 catches for 807 yards and 7 TDs. Most draft analysts project his biggest impact on special teams, but I'd imagine the Bears want to give Justin Fields another weapon and use him on offense.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) April 30, 2022
The Velus Jones pick was driven by two things: 1. need. 2. a 4.31 40-yard dash. Scouts I spoke with before the draft thought he'd be a fourth round pick. The Bears passed over some highly regarded players at other positions to fill a hole.
— Dan Pompei (@danpompei) April 30, 2022
One special teams coordinator just told me Velus was his top returner in this class and he figured he'd be a Round 3 selection. If Jones can be the best returner in the class and help on offense, Ryan Poles did well.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) April 30, 2022
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