Patrick Allen Jones II (born September 29, 1998) is an American professional football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh.

Patrick Jones II
No. 91 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1998-09-29) September 29, 1998 (age 26)
Yokosuka, Japan[1]
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:264 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school:Grassfield (Chesapeake, Virginia)
College:Pittsburgh (2017–2020)
NFL draft:2021 / round: 3 / pick: 90
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2024
Total tackles:84
Sacks:10.0
Forced fumbles:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Jones was born on a U.S. military base in Yokosuka, Japan.[2] He grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia and attended Grassfield High School.[3] As a senior, he recorded 83 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks and was named All-Tidewater.[4] Jones committed to play college football at Pittsburgh over offers from Virginia Tech, California, Duke, Illinois, and NC State.[5]

College career

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Jones enrolled at Pittsburgh a semester early and redshirted his true freshman season. As a redshirt freshman, he made seven total tackles and recorded a half of a sack. Jones entered the defensive line rotation as a redshirt sophomore and finished the season with 23 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and a forced fumble.[6][7] Jones became a starter going into his redshirt junior year and was named second team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after recording 43 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and 18 quarterback hurries.[8][9]

Going into his redshirt senior year, Jones was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award, Ted Hendricks Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy watchlists and was considered to be one of the top prospects at his position for the 2021 NFL draft.[10][11][12][13] Jones was named the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week and the Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week for the third week of the season after recording six tackles with three sacks and three tackles for loss in a 23-20 win over Louisville and again the following week after a three sack performance against Boston College.[14][15][16] Jones finished the year with 44 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, nine sacks and a fumble recovery.[17]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+14 in
(1.94 m)
261 lb
(118 kg)
32+78 in
(0.84 m)
10 in
(0.25 m)
4.94 s 1.58 s 2.83 s 31.5 in
(0.80 m)
8 ft 11 in
(2.72 m)
22 reps
All values from Pro Day[18][19][20]

Jones was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round (90th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft.[21] The Vikings obtained the aforementioned third round selection after trading defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens.

References

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  1. ^ Young, Lindsey (May 6, 2021). "5 Things to Know About New Vikings DE Patrick Jones II". Vikings.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "5 Things to Know About New Vikings DE Patrick Jones II". vikings.com. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  3. ^ "Inside Pitt star Patrick Jones' improbable intro to football". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 6, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  4. ^ "Signing Day: Damar Hamlin headlines homegrown talent for Pitt". WTAE.com. February 3, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Hammet, Jim (December 2, 2015). "Pat Signal: Patrick Jones II commits to Pitt". CardiacHill.com. SB Nation. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Fitz, Sean (August 9, 2019). "Pitt loses top defender for season". 247Sports.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "10 players to watch as Pitt football opens spring drills". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 5, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  8. ^ "Pitt's Patrick Jones II will skip 2020 NFL draft, return next season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 28, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  9. ^ Rang, Rob (June 5, 2020). "First Take - Top Defensive Ends for the 2021 NFL Draft". SI.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  10. ^ "Pitt's Ford, Jones and Twyman land on Bednarik Award preseason watch list". WJACTV.com. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  11. ^ O'Brien, Ed (June 8, 2020). "Patrick Jones II named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list". 247Sports.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  12. ^ "2021 NFL Draft: Why I'm higher than most on Duke's Chris Rumph, Pittsburgh's Patrick Jones and two WRs". CBS Sports. September 3, 2020.
  13. ^ Brugler, Dane (August 4, 2020). "NFL Draft Summer Scouting: Pass rush class stacked with freaky talents". The Athletic.
  14. ^ Wilson, Mike (September 30, 2020). "Patrick Jones II named Bednarik Player of the Week". CardiacHill.com. SB Nation. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  15. ^ Winkler, Adam (September 28, 2020). "ACC recognizes Chesapeake's Patrick Jones II". WTKR. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  16. ^ "Pitt's Patrick Jones, college football's sack leader, is 'just scratching the surface'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  17. ^ McGonigal, John (December 14, 2020). "Pitt star Patrick Jones excited for 'new chapter' after declaring for 2021 NFL draft". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  18. ^ "Patrick Jones II Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  19. ^ "2021 Draft Scout Patrick Jones II, Pittsburgh NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  20. ^ "Minnesota Vikings select Pittsburgh Panthers EDGE Patrick Jones II with No. 90 pick in 2021 draft". NFL.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  21. ^ Smith, Eric; Young, Lindsey (April 30, 2021). "Vikings Draft Pittsburgh Edge Rusher Patrick Jones II with 90th Overall Pick". Vikings.com.
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