“Cowboys free-agent RB Felix Jones worked out today for the Philadelphia Eagles, per league source.”
All the local beat guys have confirmed this as well.
Interesting news. There were many who thought Jones should have been the Eagles primary target in the 1st round in 2008. Ray Didinger was on the Jones bandwagon in a big way. Here’s what he had to say back then:
“Draft Felix Jones, the electrifying running back from Arkansas. I actually like him better than his more celebrated teammate Darren McFadden, who will be drafted in the top 10. Jones is 5-10, 207 pounds and unlike McFadden, who is all straight line speed, Jones has explosive lateral quickness that, in my opinion, will make him more dangerous at the next level.
Jones averaged 8.7 yards per rushing attempt last season at Arkansas, the highest average in college football in more than a decade. He outran some of the fastest defenses in the nation in the SEC and he also excelled on special teams. He set the school record for kickoff return yardage, and he tied the conference mark (previously set by Tennessee’s Willie Gault) with four kickoff returns for touchdowns.
So Jones would help the Eagles immediately as a kick returner, and, as a clone of Brian Westbrook, he could share the load in the backfield. Like Westbrook, he is almost impossible to defend in space, and although they didn’t throw the ball to the backs much in the Razorback offense, he has proven he has good hands. (He actually started several games at a wide receiver the past two seasons).
One other thing: If the Eagles can’t acquire another wide receiver, either via trade or draft, drafting Jones could help fill that void. How? Put together an offensive package with Jones lined up in the backfield and Westbrook at wide receiver. I’m not suggesting that should be the base offense, you wouldn’t want to put that much pressure on a rookie, but you could certainly design a set of plays with both of them on the field, and it would be a nightmare for a defensive coordinator.”
Jones had an up and down career with Dallas. There were times when he looked special, but he could never play to that level on a consistent basis. The Eagles would look at Jones as a role player and possible KOR.
Jones is an odd player. He had big time speed and made some explosive runs, but has only scored 11 rushing TDs in 5 years. Think of him as the anti-Emmitt Smith I guess. Smith lacked top speed, but was a TD machine and workhorse back. Jones has 569 career carries. Smith would hit that total in 1.5 years.
The other interesting note is that despite having 5 years of experience, Jones is just getting ready to turn 26 on Wednesday. He’s not a guy that has been over-used, but wear and tear has affected Jones. His yards per carry and yards per KOR were the lowest totals of his career in 2012.
Jones would be a nice signing for depth purposes, but at this point he would be battling Chris Polk more than Shady McCoy or Bryce Brown.
If we read anything into this, it might be that the Eagles aren’t so sure that UDFAs Miguel Maysonet and Matthew Tucker can seriously challenge for roster spots.
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cant stand ray diddy. esp with anything draft related. He tries to come off as nice calm and smart but i see thru that, i think hes more of a condescending a-hole who thinks hes right all the time.
In that draft when desean came oiut, ray had 5 WRs we should draft, yeah desean wasnt on his list, and desean was the best WR in the draft and i thought that was very very very clear, well desean AND jordy Nelson, nelson wasnt on his list either. So i NEVER put any stock into rays draft thoughts, the fact that he thought jones was worth a 1st round picks shows why, ray just doesnt get it, IMO.
Thats my rant, im done lol
ray had jayson foster on his list over desean and jordy nelson, dude went undrafted and never did anything… just wanted to add that… lol.. im done
Ray Didinger has always been a fraud. But he sure sounds like he knows what he’s talking about! What with picks like Cade McNown, Ricky “Can’t Miss!” Williams, and so many more. He’s a fraud.
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Micksick is seeing things that aren’t there. Ray has given such strong analysis for such a long time. There are so many hack writers out there and guys who don’t know much. Ray is one of a few reporters who has extensive knowledge of what he writes about. He also has strong writing skills and has given bold and true opinions for a long time. From what I’ve seen he deserves his place in writer’s wing of the NFL hall of fame.
People like you find the most obscure arguments. Like him not having DeSean Jackson in his top 5. Jackson was actually the 7th WR taken in that draft, so clearly NFL teams agreed with Ray. Nobody can predict every pro bowler. He provides a lot of knowledge that others don’t have, unique insights, and analysis, and we are very lucky to have had him in Philly unless you wanted to read more rehashed articles with typos from guys who know much less about the game. Just like everyone he’s not always going to guess right, but even when I disagreed I could see how well he framed his argument and I still managed to learn so much from those same articles.
Not to mention that (if I understand correctly) that list yoy mention wasn’t even supposed to be a top 5, just 5 receivers he thought would be a good choice.
whenever i think of Felix Jones, I think of that first Cowboys training camp where one of his teammates, so impressed with Jones, claimed that he was 10 times better than Brian Westbrook. I guess the jury is out on that statement.
You’d think we are in some cash strapped poor country or something. Why isn’t the government spending on anything?