Player: Cardale Jones

Position: Quarterback

School: Ohio State

Draft Status: Fourth Round, 139th Pick (Buffalo Bills)

Dynasty Rookie Quarterback Ranking: #8

There isn't a ton to centrally focus on as it relates to Jones' college career. We ran a partner draft profile on him leading up to the annual event on FantasyPros. The focus there was on such a small sample-size for this ultra-talented gunslinger. Jones attempted a total of 269 passes during his days in Columbus. His biggest claim to fame was taking over the starting job out of the blue as a sophomore in 2014, eventually leading Ohio State to the National Championship. 

That run saw Jones put up a total of 566 yards and three touchdowns in the Buckeyes' two playoff games, a run that culminated in a win over Oregon in the national title game. Jones himself completed 16-of-23 passes for 249 yards in that outing. 

Entering his junior year, Jones was Ohio State's unquestioned starter. J.T. Barrett was tasked with backing him up while Braxton Miller made the decision to switch to receiver. 

Unfortunately, Jones simply could build off that amazing and surprising run he saw the year before. He was eventually benched in favor of Barrett following a bad performance against Penn State. After seeing limited playing time for the remainder of the season, Jones decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft. 

Scouting Report

Strengths: at 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds, Jones is a mountain of a man for a quarterback. In fact, he measures up to Cam Newton almost inch-per-inch and pound-by-pund. This will help him hold up at the NFL level. Pretty much a pure pocket passer with the arm strength to make any throw on the football field. He can zip the ball from the left hash to the right sideline 15-20 yards down the field. That's a rarity for a quarterback. His ability to see over the defense will also come in handy. He also shows the ability to show touch on deep passes, with a trajectory that can place the ball over the defender. This touch works well on shorter passes as well. Pretty darn good processing the game and making decisions. 

Weaknesses: Raw. Extremely raw. Outside of his pure talent, that was the first thing that stood out on tape. Accuracy on simple routes is the biggest issues outside of substandard mechanics. Needs to show more consistency making the average pass. In terms of mechanics, his footwork is an absolute mess. Also drops his shoulder too much during throwing process, which leads to the ball being overthrown on a consistent basis. Struggles with pressure up the middle. Lacks the pocket awareness to be an immediate impact player in the NFL. 

2016 Outlook

Jones will be a developmental third-stringer behind Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel in 2016. There's no real reason for him to see the field. Instead, the Bills are going to do their best to work with him behind the scenes to improve on the vast amount of issues he has as a raw quarterback prospect.

He needs to show that he can fix these issues in order to move up on the depth chart. Even if Taylor should go down to injury like he did last season, Manuel will be the starter in his stead. Barring some sort of major issues as it relates to injuries to both Taylor and Manuel, Jones won't see the field in 2016. 

Dynasty Outlook

I wanted to put Jones higher in our rankings. It's just something I couldn't do with the small amount of experience has has at a high level in college. The talent is surely there, but a lack of game tape coupled with the presence of Taylor in Western New York pushed Jones down in the in the rankings. 

With that said, the upside is nearly unlimited here. Jones boasts the talent to be a top-10 quarterback in the NFL. He also has a floor that suggests he could be out of the league in two years. It's the perfect projection pick. Take him late in rookie pool drafts and taxi him for a couple years. At that point, you should have a better idea of where he stands in the NFL. Highest upside of any non Day 1 pick in the draft. That's pretty clear.