A transfer from Buffalo through Iowa, Charlie Jones transferred to Purdue to rejoin with his old travel baseball teammate, quarterback Aidan O’Connell, and was ridiculously productive in 2022 as a starter. He served as the punt returner for the team last year and ended up with 110 catches for 1361 yards and 12 touchdowns on offense. One concern is how he wasn’t very productive against NFL cornerbacks (Illinois, Maryland) until he was heavily schemed against Michigan. 

A lot of Jones’ limitations appear to be athletic, which means that there isn’t a lot he can really improve on regarding his upside. He’s already very much a timing route-runner who can develop chemistry with quarterbacks who have to use their timing to develop that chemistry with receivers. 

Ultimately, Charlie Jones is a guy who consistently wins on in and out break routes, has good foot speed, good acceleration and is adequate as a route runner. Loses very little momentum exiting breaks, but doesn’t have special deep speed to stretch a defense or threaten the “go”. pic.twitter.com/cOM3e9MPzO

— Tanner James (@tjdissect) March 4, 2023

Played through a rib injury in 2022, but didn’t miss time with it. 

Charlie Jones’s scouting report

Athletic Ability (25)

Speed/Athleticism: 15

• Speed (5/7) – Average speed. Doesn’t look like he will test too well, maybe in the 4.59-4.64 range. Ended up running a 4.43 – I just don’t think he runs that fast in pads. 
• Change of Direction (2.5/4) – Struggles to change direction. Shuttle time both times I ran my clock on the video ended up being a 4.50, just struggles to do so outside of small increments. Very solid in subtle movements. 
• Body Control (3/4) – Good body control. Very nuanced as a route runner. 

Acceleration/Burst: 10 

• Acceleration (4/5) – Acceleration is good. Doesn’t have a lot of gears he can switch through but gets up to speed quickly. 
• Explosiveness (3/5) – Lacks some explosion that other receivers in the class have over him. Tested decently well but just doesn’t really show it on tape. 

Receiver Technique (25)

Route Running: 15 

• Footwork (5.5/7) – A talented route runner. Sets his routes well and has good control on his footwork to break effectively. Struggles to run through press. Great on timing routes. 
• Route Tree (4.5/5) – Ran a very detailed route tree at Purdue. 
• Nuances (2.5/3) – Shows good nuance setting up his routes with tempo changes. Works very well to win positioning on his route. 

Release/Flexibility: 10

• Release Ability (3/5) – Has a decent release, not great. Tries to wait until the defender is flatfooted before he makes his break, not feigning any direction with his first few chop steps. 
• Sideline Work (3/5) – Average sideline work. Doesn’t always show two feet inbounds. 

Catch Ability (25)

Catch Ability: 15

• Natural Catch Ability (8.5/10) – Good hands. Reliable receiver overall. Creates decent catch angles. Does a good job attacking the catch point when he needs to – 22/42 on contested catch opportunities last year. 
• Consistency (4.5/5) – Very consistent receiver – just a 3.9% drop rate. 

Contested Catch Ability: 10 

• Vertical Ability (3/5) – Has some vertical ability but it’s not anything to write home about. 
• Catch Through Contact (3/5) – Flashes the ability to make catches through contact, but not nearly consistent enough. Needs to be schemed to space to be effective. 

Schematic Versatility (20)

Deep Threat/RAC: 10 

• Deep Threat Ability (3/5) – Doesn’t look like he’s much of a deep threat. Speed tested well but it just doesn’t show up on tape. 
• Run After Catch Ability (3/5) – Doesn’t offer a lot of RAC ability, but is good at making the first defender miss. Avoids a lot of kill shots. Has a good feel for field vision. 

Run Blocking: 10

• Strength (3/5) – Not a strong run blocker. Good enough to get the job done. 
• Consistency (3/5) – Fairly consistent. Can hold off defenders long enough to let a run squeeze by but isn’t something he can hang his hat on. 

Overall: (74.5) – 4th/5th Round