Ronald Jones II would bring electricity to the Redskins rushing attack

Ronald Jones II, RB
School: USC | Conference: PAC 12
College Experience: Junior | Age: 20
Height / Weight: 6-0 / 200 lbs
Projected Draft Status: Late 1st - early 2nd round
NFL Comparison: Kansas City Jammal Charles

College Statistics

Player Overview

Ronald Jones II is quiet off the field. He shies away from the spotlight and he likes to ‘play silently’. Humility is a desirable trait but Jones’ play is anything but silent on the field. Early in his career at USC Jones II “quietly” strung together a series of impressive performances despite splitting time with his teammate Justin Davis. This past year he earned lead duties and Jones burst onto the national scene and ran for over 100 yards in 9 of his 12 regular season games. Jones is electric in space and he can exploit any gap in front of him.

A big part of Jones’ development has been USC’s new running backs coach Deland McCullough previously of Indiana. McCullough previously coached Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard at Indiana. Now at USC, he saw Jones’ talent and worked with him on the areas of his game that needed cleaning up namely pass protection and ball security. Jones has grown tremendously in those areas in particular and his overall game has improved in general. Now he is one of the top running backs (one of the most well rounded and prolific) in this draft class and has all the skills necessary to be a playmaker and feature back at the next level.

Strengths

• He is a 0 to 60 in 1.9 seconds type of player. Long strider who reaches his top speed very quickly and can convert short to intermediate gains into chunk plays as a result.
• Deadly in space with a great elusive quality usually created by a smooth semi-lateral burst along with great vision- if he gets past the second level he’s gone.
• Good balance and break tackle ability in traffic. Shifty and makes use of his stiff arm and is more powerful than he looks and can drag defenders forward for an extra yard or two.
• Solid in pass protection and is willing to stand a defender up and sacrifice his body to protect QB.
• Limited sample size but appears comfortable and proficient in catching passes out of the backfield and downfield - route running is ok - held on to the ball well in his career with only 2 fumbles.

Weaknesses

• Needs a decent o-line group in front of him. Somewhat obviously he has trouble creating space if the LOS is not secure from the snap.
• Plays with much more finesse than power.

Let’s see his work:

More Ronald Jones II videos

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

With his quick burst, top end speed, elusiveness, and big-play ability having Ronald Jones II in the backfield would completely change the dynamic of the Redskins running game. Jones is more than capable of being a 3 down back but the Redskins would have the luxury of playing either Jones II or Thompson in those situations and the added luxury of rotating in Semaje Perine in relief and power situations if they desire. Aside from Chris Thompson’s receiving ability out of the backfield, there is no current back on the Redskins roster that has the big play ability Jones II has. The Redskins haven't had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2014 when Alfred Morris was still in town. When healthy the Redskins have one of the best offensive lines in the league and Ronald Jones would take full advantage and produce and finally give the team the much-needed flexibility and versatility they have been looking for at the position.