Washington Redskins: Why Matt Jones was far more than a failed draft choice

A failed rookie campaign

Jones arrived in Washington to complement – and eventually replace – Alfred Morris, whose star was then fizzling almost as quickly as it had shined. The third-round rookie posted a promising early return by rushing for 123 yards on 19 carries against a vaunted Rams defense in Week 2 of the 2015 season. But he could never replicate that production for the rest of that year. He finished the season with 490 yards on 144 carries and a miserable 3.4 yards per attempt.

Jones’ failed rookie campaign was the product of several fundamental shortcomings he was never able to remedy. Jones could never learn to run with a low-pad level to maximize his ability to gain yards after contact. Neither was Jones able to live up to his billing as a bruising north-south runner. Instead of using his size and speed to exploit holes, his penchant for lateral movement often resulted in losses of yardage that put his team in countless unfavorable downs and distances.

And then there was the issue of ball security. Jones coughed up the rock five times in his rookie year, losing all but one of them. The only running back with more fumbles that year was Adrian Peterson (six). Peterson was the league’s leading rusher that season and carried the ball 183 times more than Jones.