Saturday, February 26, 2000
Bengals eye Virginia's Jones at RB
Could take Dillon's spot
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
INDIANAPOLIS — The scouts say he runs like Emmitt Smith. One NFL general manager says he's the closest running back in this year's NFL draft to the Rams' versatile Marshall Faulk.
But Thomas Jones may well end up replacing Corey Dillon if the Bengals and their 1,000-yard runner can't agree on his contract.
There are those in the organization and the NFL who argue letting Dillon sign elsewhere in return for first- and third-round draft picks could make them stronger — and not because they think Virginia's Jones is that much better than Dillon.
But they can take Jones with the fourth pick, a cornerback with the extra first-round pick that would have to be close to the middle of the round, and a wide receiver in the second round.
“I want Corey back,” coach Bruce Coslet said Friday at the NFL scouting combine. “He runs hard, he plays hard. I like everything about him.”
But the Bengals are taking a long look at the 5-foot-10, 216-pound Jones, who has a defensive end's neck and cornerback's speed. Even if Dillon doesn't sign with someone else, they could take Jones because of the long shot in getting Dillon long-term.
“He's bigger than I thought he was,” Coslet said of Jones. “To me, that's borderline feature back size because of the pounding they take. You like them in the 220s, but he's 5-10, he's built like a 225-pound guy. He has a body like that.”
Jones runs a basic 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash. That ignited him for 17 touchdowns last season, opening up holes that conjured up the name of his hometown in southwestern Virginia: Big Stone Gap.
But it's his pass catching that has the scouts calling him the draft's most complete back and why they expect him to be picked ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, the 260-pound bruiser who some see as a risky either/or bust or Jerome Bettis.
“I lined up in the slot a lot in our offense,” Jones said. “I've been catching balls the past month. I have confidence in my ability to catch the ball. I think that's why I do it well.”
Coslet likes Dayne's production and thinks Dayne could catch screen and swing passes and learn to pass block “because he's big and has athletic ability.” But as NFL personnel guru Gil Brandt said Friday, “They know Jones can catch because they've seen him do it, but Dayne was never asked to do it.”
Jones wanted no part of a comparison to Dayne, or, for that matter, to Smith.
“Emmitt Smith is a great back,” Jones said. “I'm awed to be in the same breath as him. I'm Thomas Jones. I have my own style. ... I run hard, have good quickness, good speed, I'm able to make people miss.”
Jones said every team has talked to him this week. Many mock drafts have him going seventh to Arizona, but he doesn't appear to care where he goes. Not after watching old ACC foe Torry Holt be a major force in the Super Bowl for the champion Rams.
“That's my main goal, to help (his new team) win,” Jones said. “I played against (Holt). To me, the best thing would be to get a Super Bowl ring my rookie year.”
Jones spent the past month at a camp set up by his agent, Tom Condon, that simulates what Jones will have to do when he works out for NFL teams March 6 at Virginia. He chose not to work out here this weekend like the other potential high picks, which means he won't run today when most of the running backs get timed in the 40-yard dash.
Jones is used to watching it done the hard way. He saw his mother disappear into the coal mines every morning for 17 years.
“I saw what she was doing and it gave me motivation to go out and work hard, lift hard, play hard every game,” he said.
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