Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots defense was among the best in the NFL in 2025, in large part due to the play it got out of its cornerback group. Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis performed at a high level on the outside, while Marcus Jones provided a steady presence at what is the notoriously difficult slot corner spot.
We already spoke in great detail about Gonzalez and Davis in our Patriots Scouting Report series. Now, it’s time to take an up-close look at the third starting CB.
Name: Marcus Jones
Position: Cornerback/Punt returner
Jersey number: 25
Opening day age: 27 (10/22/1998)
Measurements: 5’8”, 188 lbs, 28 7/8” arm length, 8 7/8” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New England Patriots (2022-) | College: Troy (2017-18), Houston (2019-21)
A wide receiver, cornerback, and return man at Enterprise, AL, High School, the three-star recruit Jones originally committed to his lone Power 5 offer, Purdue. However, he later changed his mind and ended up at Troy, where he spent two seasons and appeared in 24 games with 10 starts.
After sitting out the 2019 season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules, Jones played 20 games with 17 starts at Houston. Proving himself a dangerous player with the ball in his hands, he became a three-way contributor again by his senior season, resulting in him winning the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player. In total, he finished his college career with 11 touchdowns between offense, defense and special teams and was named an All-American three times, including as a consensus selection in 2021.
The Patriots liked what they saw and in 2022 made Jones the 85th overall selection in the third round of the NFL Draft. Since then, he has played 52 combined regular season and playoff contests and saw action in all three phases of the game. However, his focus has primarily been on defense and special teams, where he developed into one of the league’s most electrifying players and a two-time All-Pro selection as a punt returner (first team 2022, second team 2025).
Jones also has touchdowns in all three phases of the game on his résumé. He caught one receiving TD back in his rookie season, ran back three of his seven total career interceptions for scores, and has found the end zone on three combined punt returns. His regular season punt return career average of 14.3 is the best of all time.
Strengths: Jones is a fluid athlete, who offers an intriguing blend of speed, acceleration and quickness. He combines this skillset with an advanced technical makeup that allows him to be a capable man coverage defender, whose best work comes in the slot. He has the footwork and poise to follow his assignments through their patterns, reads routes and recovers well, allowing him to play a fairly clean game and to limit penalties.
Jones’ coverage skills are complemented by a willingness to play the run. While lacking in...
