Tennessee football: Velus Jones Jr.’s five best NFL landing spots

There’s a reason Tennessee football once had the title of Wide Receiver U. Pass-catchers of all types found their way to the NFL. That includes tall wideouts, possession receivers and elite athletes with the ball in their hand. Velus Jones Jr. could be the next guy to follow in the shoes of those elite athletes.

Willie Gault, Anthony Miller and Cordarrelle Patterson all were part of that line of elite athletes. Jones, who doubled as the kickoff and punt returner for the Vols last year, would be perfect in any franchise that needs a speedy receiver and a new return specialist.

Offensive-minded coaches would also be a huge help, as they usually figure out the best ways to use a guy like Jones with the ball in open space. All of this leaves lots of options for the former Tennessee football wide receiver who was elite in the slot and the return game. Here are the five best landing spots for Jones in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Lost NFC Wildcard Round

Last year’s Arizona Cardinals offense was driven by DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green on either side with Christian Kirk and Rondale Moore as the speedy receivers in the slot. Kirk has since signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Hopkins is the only wideout back. That means Kingsbury could use two more receivers.

At least one of those guys needs to be a speedy receiver with Kirk gone. However, Kingsbury’s air raid would allow for both receivers to be speedy receivers, and at 6’0″ 201 pounds, Jones is more than capable of lining up at wideout in that system if needed.

As a result, while he’s another projected late round pick, Jones could be the perfect fit in Arizona. Although there are still questions about Kyler Murray and what he will do going forward, Kingsbury’s system will still remain. Moore will likely be the main return specialist, but Jones could help with that too given what he did with Tennessee football.