NFL Draft 2016: Bills take necessary gamble on Cardale Jones
The Buffalo Bills took Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills are trying to upgrade the quarterback depth chart and took a necessary gamble with the fourth round selection of former Ohio State starting quarterback Cardale Jones.
The Bills got a breakout year from quarterback Tyrod Taylor last year but the Bills are protecting themselves in the event they can’t come to an agreement on an extension for the first-time starter.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the Bills won’t do an extension with Taylor now and are expected to decline the option on former first round pick E.J. Manuel.
#Bills QB situation bears watching: They won't do an extension for Tyrod Taylor now, not expected to pick up EJ Manuel's option. Now Cardale
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 30, 2016
Enter Jones who is as big of a wildcard as any player in this draft not named Jaylon Smith or Myles Jack whose injury concerns dropped them from the top five of the first round to the top five of the second round. Jones began fall camp last year as the third-string quarterback behind Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett before becoming the starter after season-ending injuries to those two.
Jones had a whirlwind of a three-game stint with the Buckeyes last year in leading them to wins in the Big Ten Championship Game vs. Wisconsin and later in the College Football Playoff vs. Alabama and Oregon in the National Championship Game.
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He completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 742 yards and five touchdowns to two interceptions. He also added 90 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
But Jones couldn’t recapture that form when he began the 2015 season as the starter after bypassing the draft when he likely would have been taken in the first three rounds. Jones completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 1,460 yards and eight touchdowns to five interceptions before losing his starting job to Barrett late in the year. Despite this, Jones has never lost a game as a starting quarterback in college with a 11-0 record on his resume.
Jones is still very raw as a passer and goes to Buffalo where he won’t be expected to start this year and can continue to refine his game and get acclimated to the speed of the NFL.
There isn’t a quarterback in this draft with a bigger arm than Jones who can toss it 80 yards and make it look easy, but he has to improve his vision and reading defenses. That can improve with film study and he should be attached to the hip of the Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman and quarterbacks coach David Lee.
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The Bills needed to take a quarterback in this draft and they got a player in Jones who could end up playing like a first round talent, but it’ll take a couple of years for that to develop. For a fourth round pick, you can’t ask for much more than that.