You can view my previous fantasy football IDP Profile here.
Intro
Since entering the league as a second-round pick out of LSU in 2016, Deion Jones has been a very productive player. Jones has been reliable, playing in 69 out of 80 games since his rookie season. However, it seems like Jones is always undervalued and overlooked in fantasy football circles when it comes to IDP drafting. He has had more than a 100+ tackles in every season except for 2018, when he injured his foot in the season opener and missed 10 games.
Let’s look at his numbers from 2016 to 2020 below:
Games: 69
Tackles: 515
Sacks: 6.5
INTs: 11
PassDeflections: 38
Jones played in 96 percent of the defensive snaps for the Falcons in the 2020 season. That was the highest percentage of snaps amongst all Falcons’ defensive players. Jones thrived under former head coach Dan Quinn and his 4-3 defensive scheme.
Dean Pees, now the defense coordinator for the Falcons, brings along years of experience. Pees’ defenses have had a history of being blitz heavy. He was noncommittal when asked earlier this off-season as to what type of defensive scheme will be implemented. In other words, Pees will use whatever scheme to get the most out of his talented players such as Jones.
Pees has coached the likes of Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Ray Lewis, and Terrell Suggs at the linebacker position. Jones is the single best cover linebacker Pees will have coached thus far.
In his first two seasons, Jones lead all linebackers in the NFL with a combined 25 pass deflections! Yes, 25 total pass deflections, utilizing his 4.5 speed to be one of the better cover linebackers in the game.
Fantasy Football Outlook
Below are Jones’ total fantasy points from 2016-2018:
2016: 206.3
2017: 246.9
2018: 100.2
2019: 176.4
2020: 208.2
Jones playing under Pees aggressive defensive schemes will start to make more of his presence felt in the backfield with tackles for loss, QB hits/pressures and more importantly, sacks. Both Jayon Brown and Rashaan Evans recorded over 100 tackles in 2019 under Pees. Jones will match and exceed those numbers in 2021 easily.
Jones’ sideline to sideline ability allows him to be on the field for all three downs. That is a major plus when looking into drafting IDP players. His ability to be a significant force in pass coverage is a good asset, as he can get those pass deflections and interceptions to go along with tackle points for your fantasy football squads.
Jones averaged 13 fantasy points per game in the 2020 regular season ranking him at no.12 for all IDP positions. I expect more out of Jones in terms of exotic blitz packages to get him to utilize his blazing speed and pressure the quarterback.
Barring any type of significant injury, Jones will be able to produce as a top five IDP at his position. He has put up very solid numbers during the course of his career and still is just 26 years old! On draft day when everyone is grabbing the likes of Devin White early, let Jones fall to you. You wont regret the pick and production.
