Datone Jones, defensive line
FOX Sports Wisconsin's Paul Imig gives an in-depth statistical analysis and film study of every Packers player in his annual offseason checkup. You can find every report here.
Season stats (playoffs included): 15 games, three starts (385 snaps; 36.9 percent of total defensive snaps), 25 tackles, six missed tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, one interception, zero forced fumbles, two passes defensed, 10 stops (tackles that resulted in offensive failure)
ProFootballFocus.com season rating: 0.5 (ranked No. 7 out of 24 Packers defensive players; ranked No. 25 out of 47 among qualifying 3-4 defensive ends in the NFL)
Best game: Week 16 win at Tampa Bay (played 23 of 49 snaps); one tackle, 0.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, one interception, zero missed tackles, one stop; 1.9 PFF rating
Worst game: NFC Championship Game loss at Seattle (played 32 of 73 snaps); two tackles, two missed tackles, one QB hit, zero stops; minus-1.3 PFF rating
Expectations at the start of training camp: Medium
Expectations were . . . Met
Looking live: First-round picks always carry increased expectations with them. After Datone Jones' rookie season, he had not yet lived up to that high billing. Jones only got on the field for 24.3 percent of the defensive snaps in 2013, and the results weren't great.
Still, with Jones' talent level and his natural fit in a 3-4 defense, it certainly seemed possible for him to have the type of Year 2 season that Mike McCarthy always looks for. The biggest question for whether Jones would be able to make that happen surrounded his ability to stop the run. In 2013, Jones played a total of just 37 snaps against the run all season, so gaining the trust of the coaching staff that he wasn't a passing-plays-only lineman was key. It was a similar situation to the one Mike Daniels faced between his second and third NFL seasons, and the latter succeeded in accomplishing that.
On Day 1 of training camp, Jones was used with the starting 3-4 defense. He was joined on the defensive line by Daniels and B.J. Raji. Along with Daniels, Jones continued to get a ton of work as the Packers attempted to prep him to be an every-down player. On the third day of practice, Josh Boyd became direct competition against Jones for that spot. It was Boyd, not Jones, who worked with the starting defense on July 28.
Jones' emotional discipline got him in trouble with McCarthy at times during training camp. McCarthy forced Jones to leave the field during a late-July practice after getting upset with him for instigating a scuffle with Don Barclay. McCarthy was trying to run no-huddle drills, and Jones interrupted it.
Jones performed fairly well in preseason action, but it wasn't an 'OK, this guy has arrived' string of performances. Green Bay was getting a feel for him as a run-stopper, letting Jones split his snaps nearly 50/50 against the run and pass.
Upon further review: Jones didn't have a true breakthrough season in 2014, but it was an improvement upon what he did as a rookie. He went up from playing 24.3 percent of the defensive snaps in 2013 to playing 36.9 percent of the snaps (in games that he was available for). Though Jones was still primarily used in pass-rushing situations, 31 percent of his total snaps were against the run. However, stopping the run was clearly a significant weakness for him.
As a pass-rusher, Jones was very effective on a per-snap basis. He was No. 4 on the Packers in pressures and tied for fifth on the team in quarterback hits. Based on the ProFootballFocus system, the only Green Bay player with a better pass-rushing rating was Julius Peppers. That was despite Jones only having 254 pass-rushing opportunities, which is nothing compared to Peppers, Daniels and Clay Matthews all getting more than 400 chances at rushing quarterbacks.
Jones missed Weeks 6-8 with an ankle injury, but the good timing of the bye week allowed him to return for Week 10.
Whether it was fatigue or just a product of trying to tackle DeMarco Murray and Marshawn Lynch, four of Jones' six missed tackles for the season came in the playoffs against Dallas and Seattle.
It comes as no surprise that Jones' best performance of the year came in Tampa Bay, a game in which 22 of his 23 snaps were as a pass-rusher. He had two quarterback hurries and was credited with a half-sack in that game, while also intercepting a pass and returning it 18 yards.
Overall 2014 grade: C-plus
Status for 2015: 100 percent chance of being on the active roster to begin next season. The question with Jones isn't if he'll be with the Packers or not, it's how high his ceiling is. Will he fall into being a pass-rush specialist only? If Jones can become great at that part of the game, Dom Capers would certainly take it. But Daniels took a big jump in run-stopping between Years 2 and 3 of his career, and Capers would obviously prefer if Jones had that same level of versatility. Jones will always be held to a higher standard as a first-round pick, and it remains to be seen how close he can get to reaching that.
Next: Fullback John Kuhn
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