The Steelers Hosted Charlie Jones Last Week, But Could He Be A Legitimate Offensive Weapon In 2023? Or Just Another Reach?

Welcome to the pre-draft season! Leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft starting on April 27th, we will be releasing draft profiles of prospects who could potentially see themselves on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Next up…

Steelers’ Draft Prospect: Charlie Jones (Wide Receiver), Purdue, Senior

OVERVIEW: As we continue to navigate our way through the league’s quieting free agency circus, the Steelers’ receiving corps has been left in shambles. As of today, the names who top the depth chart are Diontae Johnson who was held to zero touchdowns in 2022, George Pickens coming off a strong rookie campaign, Calvin Austin III who is coming off an injury that held him out of the 2022 season, Anthony Miller who is looking to reignite his career after suffering a major knee injury in 2022, and Gunner Olszewski who entered camp in 2022 with a lot of promise, only to fizzle out on both offensive and special teams duties. There is a slew of names on a shortlist behind them, but the need of deep talent at the receiver position is clear and obvious.

If we consider the current state of the receiving market, it has been significantly whittled down. Odell Beckham Jr. remains as the only premier name left available, but the Steelers are well out of that consideration. We’ve been tracking the auctioning of DeAndre Hopkins out of the Arizona Cardinals, but his price tag is one the Steelers can’t afford. Therefore, the Steelers will need to rely on their reputable love of drafting young pass catchers and developing them heading into 2023 and beyond.

Since Head Coach Mike Tomlin joined the team in 2007, the Steelers have called 18 different receivers throughout the draft and signed a plethora of others who went undrafted to join the following rookie minicamp. It is safe to assume the Steelers will be looking to dip themselves back into the receiving pool this year in search of a young, versatile receiver who can contribute on offense as well on special teams. 

The Steelers like to carry a receiver on the final roster who also plays return man in the kicking game. They thought they had that in Olszewski, but that never transpired into the regular season. However, they have their sights set on a similar receiver prospect that is flying under the radar and he’s already visited Pittsburgh. It is time to get to know Charlie Jones.

PROS: While he shouldn’t be considered as a deep-threat on offense, Jones was mostly productive within the first 10-15 yards off the line of scrimmage. He ran a variety of short and intermediate crossing routes and was an effective safety blanket in his season at Purdue. He’s a fluid runner that seems to simply glide underneath the coverage and is able to find the weak spot in the zone to set up shop. 

He plays with soft hands and incredible focus to make tough, contested catches. He has above-average footwork and was a redzone threat in making catches in the back of the endzone while keeping his feet in bounds. Outside of the redzone, Jones has great run-after-catch ability and is able to make a five-yard completion into a 20-yard gain. 

Jones is also very productive as a kick and punt returner as well. He saw most of his college production in his sophomore and junior years at Iowa where he tallied 506 punt return yards, 635 kick return yards, and added a touchdown return for both punts and kickoffs. Jones is able and willing to stick his nose in difficult areas of the field and do whatever the coaches ask him to do. 

Similar to how Tomlin likes versatility in young defensive backs, he admires the same in receivers who are hungry for a roster spot. Jones won’t shy away from a challenge and is willing to do the dirty work others may turn away from.

CONS: Jones won’t necessarily blow the top off a defense or show off any high-end speed on the field. He has trouble in breaking away from tight man coverage and really only thrives against zone defense. This could limit his ceiling as a receiver in the NFL. Because of that inability to create separation, Jones finds himself having to make contested catches when other receivers could have broken away. 

Jones brings a limited route tree and a modest catch radius with him. He wasn’t asked to run a lot of difficult routes in Iowa’s or Purdue’s offenses, which could be a turn off for scouts. In addition, he seemed to have trouble finding the right fit for his unique skill set in college. 

He started at the University of Buffalo, before transferring to Iowa, where he’d then transfer to Purdue for his senior year. While we don’t know how that will translate to the next level, Jones is certainly fielding questions around his journeys throughout different collegiate programs. But to round out his areas of improvement, scouts are evaluating his route tree, ability to create separation at the top of his routes, and ability to beat man coverage in the NFL.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 5th Round

With Jones’ skillset, there is a good chance he’ll be looked over through the first two days of the draft. While this year’s wide receiver draft class isn’t as robust as last year’s, there are still a lot of names listed above Jones on a lot of depth charts. For the sake of the Steelers, with Jones being considered as a fifth-round pick, that puts him in between the Steelers’ 120th overall selection in the fourth round and their following pick which comes at the 234th spot in the seventh round. 

If they like what they see in him and walked away from their meeting last week feeling impressed, they’ll either have to reach a bit to get him in the fourth round, or bank on him still being available by the time the seventh round rolls around.

VERDICT: It takes the right offensive mind to successfully utilize a skillset like Jones’. The Steelers tried and seemingly failed with Ryan Switzer years ago and Olszewski finds himself in a “make it or break it” year. There is no denying that Jones shows he has upside in two phases of the game and can be used as a utility player. However, it comes down to his draft stock and availability in the later rounds. The fourth round is arguably too early for Jones, but the seventh round may be too late. 

I wouldn’t consider Jones being worthy of trading up for necessarily, but if General Manager Omar Khan works his magic and somehow acquires a fifth round pick, I’d be all for seeing Jones get the call from Pittsburgh. As a day three flier who is able to be coached up and contribute on special teams, Jones would be a no-brainer in that scenario. Time will tell in determining how things will transpire by that point in the draft, however.

Where do you see Jones going in April? Would you want to see him in the black and gold? Let us know in the comments!

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