Deion Jones

Deion Jones (born November 4, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL).

Recruited by Corey Raymond, Jones originally committed to Nebraska in August 2011, but changed his commitment to Louisiana State after receiving a late offer in December 2011.

Under head coach Les Miles, Jones was a backup his first three years at LSU, appearing in 39 games with one start.

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jones was ranked as the No. 31 outside linebacker prospect in the class of 2012.

As a freshman in 2012, he recorded 23 total tackles (three tackles-for-loss).

As a sophomore in 2013, he recorded 15 total tackles (one tackle-for-loss).

As a junior in 2014, he recorded 26 total tackles (3.5 tackles-for-loss), one pass defended, and one --fumble recovery.

As a senior in 2015, he became a starter for the first time.

In his final collegiate season, he recorded 100 total tackles (13.5 tackles-for-loss), five sacks, two interceptions, one pick-six, three passes defended, and one forced fumble.

He was a finalist for the Butkus Award.

On December 8, 2015, it was announced that Jones had accepted his invitation to play in the 2016 Senior Bowl.

He played college football at LSU, and was selected by Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Jones attended Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was a three-year starter at middle linebacker.

As a senior, he had 179 tackles, eight sacks, and three interceptions, helping Jesuit to the LHSAA Class 5A quarterfinals, where the Blue Jays lost to Carencro.

On January 30, 2016, Jones played in the Reese's Senior Bowl and recorded six combined tackles as part of Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach Gus Bradley's South team that defeated the North 27–16.

He was limited to 26 snaps, but was able to perform well enough throughout the week to impress scouts and coaches.

Jones was one of 34 collegiate linebackers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, and completed most of the drills, but opted to skip the three-cone drill, short shuttle, and bench press.

Jones finished fourth among all participating linebackers in the 40-yard dash, eighth in the vertical jump, and finished tenth in the broad jump.

On March 14, 2016, Jones attended LSU's pro day and chose to perform positional drills and all of the combine drills, but opted to stand on his broad jump performance.

All together, he performed the 40-yard dash (4.39s), 20-yard dash (2.52s), 10-yard dash (1.52s), bench press (16 reps), vertical jump (35 1⁄2"), short shuttle (4.26s), and three-cone drill (7.12s). He had an excellent overall performance in the combine drills and positional drills and his 40-yard dash (4.39s) would have finished first among all linebackers at the NFL combine. His time in the 40 was adjusted to an official time of 4.40s and dramatically increased his draft stock and profile. His pro day performance was described as "off the charts" by NFL analyst Gil Brandt. He attended private workouts and visits with multiple teams, including the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jones was projected to be a second or third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

He was able to raise his draft stock with his performances throughout the draft process and went from a projected third or fourth round pick to an all but guaranteed second rounder.

He was ranked the sixth best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, was ranked the sixth best linebacker in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and was ranked the ninth best linebacker by Sports Illustrated.

The Atlanta Falcons selected Jones in the second round with the 52nd overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

He was the eighth linebacker selected in 2016 and was the first of two linebackers the Falcons selected in 2016, along with fourth round pick (115th overall) De'Vondre Campbell.

Jones was also reunited with LSU teammate Jalen Collins.

The Falcons decided to draft Jones after linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich scouted him at the combine.

Ulbrich and head coach Dan Quinn thought Jones was an ideal candidate to play middle linebacker with his speed and pass coverage ability.

On May 5, 2016, the Falcons signed Jones to a four-year, $4.54 million contract that includes $2.16 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.50 million.

Throughout training camp, Jones competed against veteran Paul Worrilow for the job as the starting middle linebacker.

Jones credits Worrilow for guiding him through the beginning of his career and stated Worrilow acted as a mentor even though Jones was drafted with the intent of eventually replacing him.

Quinn named Jones the starting middle linebacker to start the regular season.

Jones made his NFL debut and first NFL start in the season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and recorded six combined tackles in a 31–24 loss.

On September 26, 2016, Jones collected nine combined tackles, broke up two passes, and returned his first NFL interception for a 90-yard touchdown during a 45–32 road victory against the Saints.

His interception came in the fourth quarter off a pass attempt by Drew Brees and marked his first NFL touchdown.

Jones was inactive for the Falcons' Week 5 victory at the Denver Broncos, after sustaining an ankle injury the previous week.

During Week 14, he made five combined tackles, deflected two passes, and returned an interception by Jared Goff for a 33-yard touchdown during a 42–14 road victory against the Los Angeles Rams.

Two weeks later, Jones recorded a season-high 13 combined tackles and broke up a pass during a 33–16 road victory against the Carolina Panthers.

Jones finished his rookie year with 108 combined tackles (75 solo), 11 pass deflections, three interceptions, and two touchdowns in 15 games and 13 starts.

Pro Football Focus gave Jones an overall grade of 83.0 for 2016, ranking him 20th among all off-the-ball linebackers in overall grades.

The Falcons finished atop in the NFC South with an 11–5 record and received a first-round bye in the playoffs.