Dallas Cowboys Draft: NFL Prospects from the Dallas-Fort Worth Area

RB Xavier Jones

The 5’11”, 210 pounds running back is from Spring, Texas. The Redshirt Senior played some football in all 5 seasons at the Hilltop and was extremely productive for a school that didn’t have much of an offensive identity for quite some time. (Medical redshirted his sophomore season) 2019 was his best season as he accumulated over 1200 yards and 23 touchdowns!

Jones is a one speed runner with average explosiveness. However, his agility is extremely impressive to watch. Jones is an extremely shifty back who can turn a two-yard loss into a 60 yard touchdown. When he puts a foot into the ground to change direction ankles will be broken.

However, as an athlete that’s the best he provides. Jones’s contact balance is decent, but that might have more to do with his change of direction ability more than his body strength. It is a lot easier to bounce off defenders when they don’t have the correct tackling angle on you.

This in addition to not being a great pass protector would suggest Jones’s pro potential is relatively low. Jones can catch passes but he wasn’t asked to do that much in his tenure with the Mustangs. When he did catch passes, he didn’t travel all that far either.

Also Jones was in college for 5 years playing a position that with one of the worst shelf lives. As previously mentioned, he also had an injury in his sophomore year. His peak athleticism has already passed. Sad reality for an otherwise reliable running back.