2012 NFL Draft Scouting Report: UNC Tar Heel WR Dwight Jones

The college football season is officially over and only the Superbowl lies ahead of us in the NFL.  That means it’s Draft time for 30 of the leagues 32 teams.  With so many prospects to scout, workout, interview, study film, teams are getting prepared for April’s Draft today.  Meanwhile yesterday’s college stars are preparing themselves for their chance at the games highest level.  Including a few of our favorite UNC Tar Heels.

For our scouting report series on Tar Heel NFL hopefuls we’ve teamed up with NFLMock.com the networks experts on everything surrounding the NFL Draft.  Keeping It Heel would like to thank Sayre Bedinger, Jesse Bartolis the lead editors at NFLMock.com  for generously offering to share their UNC reviews with Tar Heel nation.  And of course the entire staff at NFLMock.com for sharing their hard work.  Check out NFLMock.com for expert analysis of all the top NFL prospects.  We’re kicking it off with today with WR Dwight Jones.

This scouting report was written by Mackenzie Pantoja one of the very talented staff writers at NFLMock.com

This is our Dwight Jones scouting report, for all of our other scouting reports go to our scouting report page
Positives:

+ Size- 6’4, 225lbs
+ Size to speed ratio- 4.53 40 is pretty impressive for a wide receiver as big as he is
+ Fluidity- never seen a guy as big as he is change directions with such ease
+ Strength and physicality- good run blocker and uses his size well in his routes
+ Stats- excelled last year after becoming the number 1 receiver mid-season,  and has gotten at least 82 yards or more in all but one game this season
+ Hands- doesn’t drop passes, catches the ball with ideal fundamentals

NFLMock.com dives into the Negatives and the rest of their scouting report after the jump

Negatives:

– Useless with the ball in his hands, can’t make defenders miss in the open field
– Limited route tree- isn’t asked to run a lot of different routes, but has mastered his limited route tree
– Doesn’t accelerate quickly into his routes, and probably destined to fail if placed into a west coast offense

I love North Carolina senior wide receiver Dwight Jones. He’s an athletic receiver that consistently impresses me on a game by game basis.

Jones has good measurables. He has outstanding height and bulk, and has pretty good speed for his size. His long speed is excellent, but he doesn’t accelerate quickly into his routes.

Jones has excellent stats. In 2010 he became the #1 receiver mid-season and averaged 105.25 yards per game when he took over. He has also been impressive in 2011, getting 703 yards in 8 games and getting at least 82 yards in all but one game. He also gets touchdowns at a shocking rate (already 8 this season). He consistently maintains a pretty high yards per catch (14.6 career YPC), but doesn’t always get a lot of receptions.

Jones is a solid route runner. His route tree is very limited, but he is a brilliant route runner for a guy as big as he is. He is a natural at using deceptive head fakes in his routes, and he is a fluid athlete with great change of direction skills for his size. I’ve never seen a a receiver run the fade as beautifully as he does, however, he doesn’t run a variety of routes. In North Carolina’s scheme, he is never asked to run routes as simple as the hitch and the in. He also doesn’t have a good release off the line of scrimmage. His poor release and limited route tree probably eliminates any chance of him playing in a west coast offense at the next level. Regardless, every route he is asked to run he runs with beautiful fundamentals, and he knows how to use his size to create separation.

Jones has excellent hands. He never drops passes, and he catches the ball with beautiful fundamentals, never trapping passes against his frame. However, he has mediocre body control in the air, and he isn’t great at making catches in traffic.

Jones seems to have good intangibles. He plays with outstanding on field intensity, he has shown good strength as a route runner, and he seems to have great awareness of his opponents coverage scheme. However, he does have a bit of a history with injuries, having arthroscopic surgery on his knee in 2009, missing most of the season as a result.

Jones’ biggest issue is that he is just about useless with the ball in his hands. He absolutely can’t create yards after the catch to save his life, and his isn’t deceptive when with the ball in his hands. He has a high yards per catch because he runs downfield routes so well, but he is still terrible at creating yards after the catch. He also has poor balance.

Overall, I love Jones. He plays hard, he is athletic, and he has the potential to be a great player at the next level. No team would regret picking him. However, he needs to be in the right scheme to succeed at the next level (New England and New Orleans would be good fits).

NFL Comparison: Marques Colston

Grade: 91 (deserves to be a late first round pick)

Projection: 86 (will be a mid second round pick)

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