The Baltimore Ravens enter the 2023 offseason with numerous needs on both sides of the ball. Free agency is one avenue for them to address them, including at the cornerback position — where the Ravens will surely be in the market for new talent.
Let’s take a look at one free agent the Ravens could potentially target — Jonathan Jones from the New England Patriots.
Age: 29 years old
Experience: 7 seasons
2022 stats: (16 games) 69 total tackles, 11 passes defended, four interceptions
Spotrac Value: 2 years, $24.9 million ($12.4 million annual average)
Jones is fresh off a career-best season with the Patriots. The former undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2016 had primarily played in the slot as a nickelback for most his career, but made a switch outside cornerback in 2022. Jones stepped up as a starter opposite Jalen Mills in New England’s secondary following the departure of J.C. Jackson.
He started 16 games and posted 69 combined tackles with four interceptions and 11 defended passes. Jones played 894 defensive snaps and allowed just a shade over 50% of total targets thrown his way to be caught on the season.
Jonathan Jones is a playmaker. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/s3iaR7Tjv8
— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) November 25, 2022
Jones transitioned to playing outside and usually held his own despite standing at only 5-foot-10 with a 190-pound frame. According to PFF, Jones’ coverage grade of 82.1 through the first 10 weeks of the season ranked No. 6 among all cornerbacks. His performance in coverage slid during the second half of the year.
Still, having a lot of experience in the slot and now having proven capable at outside corner, Jones brings versatility to the table. For a team like the Ravens, who like to move defensive backs around the field in different spots, that’s a valuable trait.
The seven-year veteran will be 30 years old this coming September. However, he doesn’t have a ton of mileage under his belt having only exceed 600 defensive snaps in a season three times. Jones has also proven to be a special teams contributor as well.
Out of this year’s crop of free agent cornerbacks, Jones finished with the most tackles in 2022 and had the second-most interceptions.