The Bears continue to chip away at signing their draft picks. Yesterday’s signing of offensive lineman Zachary Thomas brought the total of Chicago draft picks to put pen to paper on their rookie deals to eight.
One day later, Velus Jones Jr. made it nine:
Fresh ink. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/5aqYBxiOWK
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 17, 2022
Jones was one of three Day 2 picks the Bears made on NFL Draft weekend last month. As the only receiver chosen by Chicago on draft weekend, the 25-year-old projects to have a path to starting as a rookie. And because of his superb return skills, Jones could carve a niche role as a special teams ace to get his feet wet before diving into the deep end as a receiver.
Here is a snippet from our post-draft profile:
“Jones projects to be an impact returner who can also serve as a gunner on special teams. And if Luke Getsy has a morsel of creativity in his playbook, he’ll find ways to get Jones the ball in space to take advantage of his skills with the ball in the open field. Whether it is as a receiver in the short passing game, on vertical passes, or even jet sweeps and end arounds, there are paths in which the Bears can get a potential playmaker the ball from a variety of different spots.”
Jones is one of the most intriguing newcomers joining the Bears this season. And I can’t wait to see how he makes an impact as a rookie.
With Jones in the fold, it leaves two Bears rookie draft picks who have yet to sign their deals — CB Kyler Gordon and S Jaquan Brisker.