Bears players, coaches share why they love what Velus Jones Jr. brings as flexible offensive playmaker originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Velus Jones Jr. stuck with the Bears as they formed their initial 53-man roster this year. For now, it appears he’s going to get an opportunity to impact the game however he can, whether that’s special teams, at wide receiver or running back.
When going through roster projections, Jones Jr.’s status was one of the hardest to predict. What made things especially cloudy is that the Bears all but officially changed Jones Jr.’s position halfway through the summer.
Ahead of the team’s second preseason game of the year, coaches moved Jones Jr. from wide receiver to running back to see if he could make more plays by getting the ball in his hands directly. Even as he learned the new position, he looked impressive both in practice and in preseason games. Jones Jr. displayed the same burst we’ve seen from him on kickoff returns, and brought physicality to the room. His bigger frame helped him churn out extra yards as defenders tried to bring him down.
“He’s shown so much as a ball carrier,” said running backs coach Chad Morton. “Even when I first got here, I saw him on tape running the ball and it’s like, ‘Oh, he needs to be a running back.’ So I’ve been kind of chirping a little bit and just the matchup problem that he can create, just like a Deebo Samuel type where he can still be a receiver but line up in the backfield and still run the ball.”
Yet, the running backs room is crowded with D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer all ahead of him on the reps list. It’s fair to wonder how much Jones Jr. would touch the ball with so many other playmakers on the team.
Obviously, Jones Jr. showed enough intriguing playmaking ability to stick around.
“I’m glad he’s in the room,” said Swift. “He’s probably the funniest guy in the room, but that’s outside…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-players-coaches-share-why-214226387.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-08-29 21:42:26
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