Washington Commanders

Personnel director compares Redskins rookie Matt Jones to former Cowboys RB

Published Sep. 30, 2015 1:04 p.m. ET

Ross Jones

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden told reporters this week he was "concerned" about rookie Matt Jones' two fumbles in the past two games. But the 6-foot-2, 231-pounder's skillset has teams around the league taking note.

"Matt is a big guy that has power," the AFC personnel director said. "He is going to break a lot of tackles. He fits really well in Washington's scheme because they want physical, downhill backs that are going to get to the line of scrimmage and create yards on their own if there's nothing there. He doesn't have the same speed, but he kind of has that Marion Barber-type physicalness to his running style."

Jones, who was selected in the third round of last year's draft, got the start over Alfred Morris last week against the New York Giants. In three weeks Jones has compiled 189 yards on the ground in 36 attempts for two touchdowns.

"The way they're using him, Matt is going to wear down a defense with the number of carries he's going to get," the director said. "He's going to pound on a defense and will get stronger as the game goes on. And he has shown that. He's even shown a little more versatility to his running style than what you saw at Florida. He has a little more wiggle in open space than I would've given him credit for."

Read this week's Front Office Insider, which details the talented 2015 rookie running back class.