The New England Patriots didn’t have a first-round pick in 2016, thanks to Roger Goodell, so their No. 60 overall selection -- Cyrus Jones -- was their first of the draft. Jones was a star corner and punt returner at the University of Alabama, and the Pats drafted him with the intention of using him in both roles.
His rookie season did not go well. Though New England went on to win the Super Bowl, Jones didn’t necessarily feel like a part of the team.
“I’ll never take credit for something I don’t feel I contributed to,” Jones told his hometown paper, the Baltimore Sun. “I was part of the team, but I didn’t feel a part of it.”
He continued, “But honestly, it was hell for me. That’s the only way I can describe it. I didn’t feel I deserved to be part of anything that was happening with the team. I felt embarrassed that these people probably thought they wasted a pick on me.”
Jones played in 10 games but was inactive for the final two weeks of the regular season and the entirety of New England’s playoff run. He played just 147 defensive snaps and his time as a punt returner could not have gone worse. After leading the nation in punt return touchdowns during his senior season for the Crimson Tide, Jones returned 11 punts for a total of just 46 yards (4.1 per return) as a rookie. He also fumbled an incredible five times.
“I honestly felt cursed,” he said. “I reached a point where I didn’t even want to play. I just didn’t have it.”
Despite the lost season on a personal level, Jones feels he still has it in him to come back and make an impact in the future.
“What I did this year was not me,” he said. “I don’t care how anybody tries to sugarcoat it. Yes, I was a rookie. But I feel I should always be one of the best players on the field, no matter where I am.”
Jones counts against New England’s cap for only $910,614 in 2017, so he will likely get a chance to prove himself right.
