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What Deion Jones did as a rookie in 2016 was nothing short of astonishing. He finished with 108 tackles, 3 interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns in the regular season, and legitimately looked like one of the best young linebackers in the NFL.
He wouldn’t be a great if he was satisfied with that, however, and thus Jones is already putting in the work necessary to somehow be even better in 2017.
Deion Jones said he's looking to have an even stronger voice in the middle of the Falcons defense this season. pic.twitter.com/6HsQYm56kN
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) May 16, 2017
Deion Jones weighs 230 & wants to be 235 this season after playing 2016 at 222. What's that mean for the #Falcons? https://t.co/qPGGjyKgmw
— 92.9 The Game (@929TheGame) May 17, 2017
The upshot here is that the team is challenging Jones to become more of a leader, and Jones is answering the call. They’re asking him to bulk up a bit to be a more physical player, and he’s already answered that call. They’re presumably asking him to make more insane, game-changing plays, and he’ll probably step up and do that as well.
With a little extra bulk, the rookie learning curve behind him, and a stronger front four in front of him, I don’t think it’s reasonable to put a ceiling on Jones’ fortunes this year. He’ll be legitimately great, and it’s just a question of exactly how great. Thankfully, we’ll get to watch and learn the answer to that.