Why Dolphins CB Isn't Running From Joint Practice Struggles

That type of performance could shake a cornerback’s confidence, but Jones is taking it in stride. 

“I knew it was gonna be the best work out there possible,” Jones told reporters Wednesday. “You know what I'm saying? I mean, y'all seen the tape, he cooked me, man. But I got better from that, and I'm learning the technique that I'm not used to doing. So he made me better. So if anything, I'd rather be him than anyone else.” 

Jones’ comment about learning new technical stuff is pretty interesting. The former Raiders and Patriots cornerback is a zone scheme fit, and the Dolphins like to play zone, but not every zone coverage is the same. 

“I would like to consider myself an off corner, but coming here, they just pretty much changed it all around, and I'm press all the time,” Jones said. “I gotta get up in your guy's face, just learning different techniques, different tricks to help me get myself in the right position.” 

If you watch the first clip of the Lions’ highlight video, you can see Jones struggle to match St. Brown at the line of scrimmage. Getting that initial jam is important because it slows the receiver down, allowing Jones to drop into zone coverage after. 

“I'm getting comfortable with it,” Jones said. “First couple of days, man, if you would have seen me, looked like a high schooler out here, you know what I'm saying? But I mean, from where I was to where I am now, it's a big jump.

“The thing that I need to keep improving is my feet and trusting the technique. Because when I don't trust the technique and I just go out there and be an athlete, that's when I lose reps. And that's when it looks bad, and you get the arm and my reps, but when I play the technique, and I shoot my hands when I'm supposed to. I take the steps when I'm supposed to, it's pretty good.”

Cornerbacks are set up to fail in 1-on-1s. Jones wasn’t jamming St. Brown and then dropping into zone coverage. 

He needed to jam him and then stay with him down the field. Putting Jones in that spot was something coach Mike McDaniel wanted to do for all his cornerbacks. 

“I got to learn so much about the cornerback unit because I challenged a lot of guys to do semi-uncomfortable things against super good receivers and one-on-ones,” McDaniel said last week. “You learn, OK, what type of boldness that person has, or are they just going to rely on stuff that's worked before? Having said that, what a great rep of seeing how people respond after they get punched. And that's all that matters.”

Well, given Jones’ comments, it seems like he’s taken the right things away from getting thrown to the wolves against one of the NFL’s better receivers. 

 Jones Taking the Next Step

Jones’ mindset appears to be right, but he’ll need to continue that into the season because he’s slated to play meaningful football for the Dolphins. 

He already has a reputation as a player who will give up big plays in man coverage, so seeing him lose some reps to St.Brown isn’t remotely surprising. Jones allowed eight touchdowns in coverage last season, and several of them were plays when he got too aggressive trying to make a play. 

However, Jones is also capable of creating big plays for the defense. 

In 42 games (21 starts), Jones has seven interceptions and 27 pass breakups. He’s also returned four of those seven interceptions for touchdowns, recording two pick-sixes last season and in 2022.

Ultimately, Jones needs to find some balance in his game. The Dolphins need his playmaking skills, but they also need him to clean up some of the technical work he talked about Wednesday. 

“There's always things to work on,” Jones said. “You know what I'm saying? I'm not a perfect player. There's no perfect player out here. I mean, when you step on that field, sometimes ball just takes over, instincts take over. But if the season started today, I'd be ready.”

Jones isn’t guaranteed to start, as Miami’s cornerback battle remains pretty open, but it’s clear he’s taking the right lessons away from the preseason.