49ers Free Agent addition - CB Jack Jones
This past week, a month after free agency opened, the 49ers added a CB with lot of career starts to their defense. Let's break it down.
The 49ers signed CB Jack Jones on April 10th, a day after signing DE Cam Sample. I broke that signing down as well.
Who knows if the veteran CB is a lock to make the final roster come September, but this break down may help us determine some things.
Let's find out what Jack Jones offers the 49ers!
Jack Jones, Cornerback
Jack Jones was a 4th round pick in 2022 of the New England Patriots. He has played 59 career games, starting 38 of those. The last two seasons, in Las Vegas and then Miami, Jones has started 16 and 17 games, respectively.
Jones is a smaller CB, listed at 5'11, 175lbs. He plays a more aggressive style, resulting in 8 career INTs and 33 pass defended.
You may be asking yourself, "why Jones has played for three teams in just 4 NFL seasons?" Also, "how is he 28, turning 29 in December, when he was drafted 4 years ago?"
Well, let's get into that, because it may be worth mentioning.
Jack Jones, despite playing in 12 games as a freshman, played 6 years of college football.
The Long Beach native stayed in Southern California, going to USC for two years before being kicked out for academic reasons after the 2017 season, a year where he had 4 INTs.
Shortly after, he robbed a Panda Express and was arrested. He spent 2018 at a junior college.
From there, Jones transferred to Arizona State, where he spent 3 years. Jones had 3 INTs in 2019 and 2021. But what happened in 2020? He was suspended from the team for a fight during practice.
So that's the college drama. Onto the NFL.
It starts with Jones being suspended at the end of his rookie season for missing rehab sessions while injured. Later that offseason, Jones was taken into custody for bringing loaded firearms into Logan International Airport. Jones was eventually waived during the 2023 season after missing curfew.
Now, that is all. No off-field issues in over two years for Jack Jones. It's hard to speak on an individual's maturity, so I just wrote the public facts.
Onto the player.
Here is a quick cut-up of Jack Jones from 2025. This is just the good stuff, and the games I watched were Week 1 vs IND, Week 7 vs CLE, and Week 11 vs WAS.
As it stands, the 49ers now have 6 known quantities in their CB room with the addition of Jack Jones. It's a bit crowded, but there all types of versatile options and different styles of players.
Let's talk about what stands out about Jack Jones, and then how he fits with the current group in San Francisco.
The Good
Jones is extremely athletic, which is necessary considering his size. This athleticism allows him to be versatile in coverage.
You can see how comfortable he is moving around in space in deep zones. A very fluid player.
Again, smaller guy. But he is clearly willing to physical.
He fights through blockers to reach the ballcarrier consistently, and never runs away from contact. In fact, he's one of the rare corners to follow a play to help make a tackle. Also, one of Jones' best skills is his ability to snuff out screens. He knows when they're coming and does an A+ job at blowing them up.
In Miami, Jones played the field side in the secondary. His athleticism showed covering more of the field.
The 49ers don't typically have their CBs switch sides, but having Jones be comfortable all over the field is a plus.
Another way Jones' athleticism shows up is in press coverage.
He's rarely physical in press, but he matches extremely well. His hip fluidity helps him stay with WRs when in tight coverage, even on comeback type routes.
I've talked all about his athleticism, and speed is a big part of that. He has makeup speed, it's good enough to recover in bad situations.
His quickness stands out too. A very solid downhill trigger to support the run.
Along the lines of Jones' downhill trigger and ability to snuff out screens, he overall has very solid instincts and recognition as a football player.
The Bad
Very grabby player, especially at the top of routes.
When he gets to the end of his backpedal, and the WR meets Jones' stopping point, Jones just grabs the WR. It doesn't matter the route. The WR may be running past him on a skinny post, breaking in or out or back to the LOS, Jones will grab him. He had 7 penalties in 2025(3 DPI, 3 holding, 1 illegal contact), via nflpenalties.com
FWIW: Deommodore Lenoir had 10, Upton Stout had 8, and Renardo Green had 6 in 2025.
I mentioned the good instincts and play recognition, but Jones does occasionally abandon zones. He can get caught drifting towards the line of scrimmage.
His size does cost him at points.
Browns RB Quinshon Judkins ran through him multiple times despite good form from Jones on his tackle attempts. He just doesn't have the frame to bring certain players down one on one.
He matched well in press, but straight up lost a decent amount in 1 on 1 situations.
On that last note:
It's to be determined with new DC Raheem Morris, but the 49ers don't typically have their CBs in many isolated 1 on 1 situations.
According to SumerSports, the Falcons used Cover 3 and Cover 4 at similar rates as the 49ers in 2025. Meanwhile, Miami prioritized Cover 2, while mixing in some Cover 3.
Meaning, if Jones sees the field, his athleticism in deep coverage will be featured far more often.
I think that less man coverage can benefit Jack Jones because of his strong instincts.
Now, will Jones get an opportunity to play in San Francisco? Here's the current CB room:
Deommodore Lenoir - big contract, slot ability, well rounded CB1. Firm starter on the outside.
Upton Stout - 2025 rookie, played 16 games and 60% of snaps. Starter in nickel packages.
Renardo Green - 14 games, 14 starts for Green in 2025. 7 starts as a rookie in 2024. Slotted starter on the outside.
Darrell Luter Jr - 2023 5th rounder, 3 starts in 2025. Outside CB, run defending special teamer.
Nate Hobbs - 2026 FA pick-up. Big contract for GB in 2025, played mostly on outside, averages just 12 games played each season. Better in the slot, but has flexibility.
Jones joins this group, and has the third most starts and snaps taken at the NFL level.
And with the Jones and Hobbs signings, I am fairly confident the 49ers will not use either of their top picks on CB, and perhaps none at all.
The biggest question likely comes with Renardo Green.
During the season, Green had several visible spats with HC Kyle Shanahan, which often resulted in Green being benched.
Now, Shanahan has spoken highly of Renardo Green, discussing how he's been good and is well liked, but they have high expectations from him. GM John Lynch also said there's been no trade discussions.
But, despite some kind words, it's also true that Shanahan and co clearly want more out of Green. There's no doubt they want to keep him around and believe in him as a starting CB as he enters Year 3. However, it's worth noting the fairly stark difference between Green and Jack Jones' play styles.
In 33 career games, Green has just 1 INT and 1 FF.
Jones has 59 career games and 8 INTs and 3 FFs.
I noted Jones' aggressive style of play. He loves to rely on instincts, a more than willing tackler, uses his hands a lot, even to his detriment.
Not to say Green isn't any of these things, but he plays a more conservative style. This is partly just his play style, but also due to the defenses Green's played in during his 2 year career. He sits back in zone and keeps things in front. Green can play the WRs hands, but doesn't really make plays.
Raheem Morris has called a variety of defenses in his career. He will be willing to adapt to the 49ers personnel and what Shanahan wants. But I guarantee Shanahan is willing to give Morris lots of freedom with his scheme and decision making.
Robert Saleh's staple is keeping things in front. And although Saleh adjusted a bit last year, playing more Cover 4 and 5 man fronts, as opposed to his traditional Wide 9 and Cover 3.
In short, signing Jack Jones gives the 49ers a bit of a different flavor in the secondary. He is a solid CB whose experience allows him to be flexible in different roles.
And while this is not the end for Renardo Green, it may be a sign that he will have a shorter leash in the 2026 season.
Thanks for reading through the article! Lots of fun Draft related articles coming soon!
Stay tuned for more NFL and 49ers articles, news, and opinions!
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