Bengals WR Marvin Jones is bound to have more impressive stat lines this season than the one he had in Friday night's preseason opener.
One catch, 17 yards.
But the numbers aren't what Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has been paying attention to this training camp with respect to his young receiver who is coming back from a season-long stint out of the rotation because of injuries.
Jackson has been more concerned with the way Jones has been running routes. Jackson is watching how Jones comes out of his breaks, seeing where he puts his hands as passes come his way, and he looks for how aggressively the receiver turns up field after securing a reception.
From what Jackson is seeing, the pre-injury Jones is nearly back.
"He's starting to look like Marvin Jones again," Jackson said. "The more he works at it every day."
Jones was thrown to twice in last Friday's 23-10 win against the Giants. He caught the one pass and turned upfield for additional yards before being tackled for a first down. He also nearly had a chance to catch a touchdown pass. As Jones went long on one "go" route, backup quarterback Josh Johnson threw under pressure. As a result, he left the throw a little short, and the ball ended up deflecting off the back of the cornerback who was covering Jones. Jones was one of our sneaky picks last year before the injury derailed his season. Mohamad Sanu emerged a bit last year but we still rank Jones as the team's WR2, coming in at 61st. He's worth a later-round flier and his ADP indicates that's where owners are taking him.
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