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When the Chicago Bears selected 25-year-old Velus Jones in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, the franchise was criticized for the pick because of his age.
However, Jones is ready to prove the doubters wrong in his rookie season.
“People talk about it, but it don’t matter,” Jones told NFL Network’s Adam Rank recently on The Sick Podcast, per NFL.com’s Grant Gordon. “I’m a baller at the end of the day. I know what I can do. Me being 25 years [old] is not going to stop me from running past people to score touchdowns and stuff like that. I’m going to be fast for a long time, strong for a long time and making plays for a long time. So, it’s really irrelevant.”
If the Bears wanted a little more depth out wide, they could have used their second-round pick on a receiver instead of drafting cornerback Kyler Gordon with the 39th overall selection.
At that point in the draft, Chicago still had a pretty decent wide receiver class to select from, including John Metchie III, Wan’Dale Robinson, Tyquan Thornton, George Pickens, Alec Pierce and Skyy Moore.
That said, Jones could prove to be a solid addition for the Bears.
Jones began his college career at USC from 2017-19 before transferring to Tennessee, spending the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Volunteers. He had a solid 2021 campaign, catching 62 passes for 807 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Alabama native also served as a return specialist at Tennessee.
Now Jones will be tasked with helping a receiver group in Chicago that lost its top performer, Allen Robinson, who signed a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams in March.
Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown are expected to be the Bears’ top receivers in 2022. Tight end Cole Kmet could also have a breakout year because of the wide receiver group being spread thin.
That said, fans shouldn’t be too hard on second-year quarterback Justin Fields next season, especially because the team didn’t do much to provide him with some top-notch pass-catchers this summer.
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