Running back

Eastern Washington

6-0 194

Draft board overall prospect rank: #113

Draft board overall running back rank: #17

Overall rating: 65 (early 4th)

40 time: 4.29

4/23/11: When Taiwan Jones, a productive small school back from Eastern Washington, ran a 4.29 at his Pro Day, along with a 39.5 inch vertical and an 11 foot broad jump, it definitely turned some heads. Here’s a small school kid with amazing speed. He naturally got Chris Johnson comparisons. I’m not going that far.

Jones rushed for 2955 yards and 29 touchdowns on 383 carries in two years as the starter at Eastern Washington. That’s an average of 7.7 per carry. He had 1742 yards and 14 scores on 221 carries this year, an average of 7.9 per carry, despite missing 3 whole games with injury, including the last two with a broken leg as Eastern Washington won the Division I-AA championship without him. That broken leg prevented him from working out publicly until his recent Pro Day and, of course, you already know what happened there.

The main difference between him and Chris Johnson is pad level. Chris Johnson runs with great pad level and Jones runs too high. He’s too skinny and top heavy at 6-0 194 to be as explosive as Chris Johnson at the next level, even with his amazing speed. He’s more like a Felix Jones or a CJ Spiller type, a change of pace back with special teams ability and good hands out of the backfield. In 2 seasons, he had 64 catches for 903 yards and 7 touchdowns so he has good hands and he can make big plays out of the backfield through the air. He also has some experience on special teams as a return man, so he has a role at the next level.

The problem is that this is a very crowded draft class when it comes to 3^rd down backs. I’d rather have someone like Derrick Locke or Jacquizz Rodgers who play with a better pad level and are more explosive initially. I’d rather have a more natural pass blocker like Kendall Hunter or someone bigger like Shane Vereen. In the end, the NFL is going to fall in love with his speed. He’ll probably go before all of those running backs I just named in either the 2^nd or the 3^rd round.

NFL Comparison: Felix Jones