It is an interesting topic of discussion. How would Chicago Bears fans have felt about the selection of Velus Jones if he were three years younger? Drafting a wide receiver with 4.31 speed and his tape at 22 years old almost certainly would’ve garnered lots of excitement. Yet the fact he was turning 25 right after being drafted left a sour taste in many mouths. GM Ryan Poles shrugged off the issue, believing the talent was well worth it.
As for Jones himself, he shrugged it off as something he doesn’t think about. If anything, he sees it as a positive. At 25, he is far more mature than most rookies. He used that extra time in college to secure two degrees, increasing his intelligence while also giving him a chance to work on his game. There is also one other fact people choose to ignore. When somebody has the speed he does, it doesn’t matter if he is 22, 25, or 33. Jones explained this to Adam Rank on The Sick Podcast.
“People talk about it, but it don’t matter. I’m a baller at the end of the day. I know what I can do. Me being 25 years [old] is not going to stop me from running past people to score touchdowns and stuff like that. I’m going to be fast for a long time, strong for a long time and making plays for a long time. So, it’s really irrelevant.”
Velus Jones is only focused on one thing.
That is building a connection with Justin Fields so he can start torching defenses on Sundays. Every minute of work he’s putting in is geared towards that goal. He is putting extra time into the Juggs machine to improve his hands and has learned how to better sink his hips during route running. It already feels like he is a better player than in college. All that remains is getting his chance to prove it.
The Bears don’t expect to lean on him too much this year. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy seems to have a plan. One that involves using Velus Jones according to his strengths. That means bubble screens, slants, vertical shots, and jet sweeps. The objective is to get the ball into his hands and let him run. As he gains experience, the playbook should open up further for him. If he fulfills his goals this year, nobody will be talking about his age anymore.
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While I’m proud of V.Jones for using the extra time to obtain two degrees, getting degrees does not increase one’s intelligence. In fact, there is much evidence to the contrary. I hope the extra football experience will help him become a fantastic NFL player quickly.
Like everything in the off-season, come the time when winning games is a real-time goal, I think Getsy will lean on V Jones more and more. Frankly, I really don’t see a scenario where V Jones is not the starting slot WR come game 1 if he doesn’t supplant Pringle for the WR 2 role. Unless Getsy has a more dependable WR he is hiding, the plan he tells the media for V Jones seems to be a lot of smoke, mirrors, and half truths.