Philadelphia

Eagles Teammates Supporting Sidney Jones in Face of Unreasonable Criticism

Ten. That's how many games Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones played during his first two NFL seasons. Not exactly a large body of work.

Yet, Jones enters 2019 under the cloud of a perceived make-or-break year. The dreaded B-word - bust - is on the tips of tongues around town and sneaking into social media posts. Even Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz termed the offseason program and upcoming training camp "important" for the 23-year-old.

Welcome to life as a young professional athlete in Philadelphia. Good thing Jones has a support system in the form of a long line of Eagles players who endured unreasonable criticism early in their careers.

Brandon Graham. Nelson Agholor. Zach Ertz, to a lesser extent. They all experienced firsthand what happens when a high draft pick doesn't immediately meet expectations.

Graham has used his story to mentor younger players in similar shoes, like Agholor. Now he's in Jones' ear, telling him to "stay focused."

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Jones' first two seasons in the league are not so different from those of Graham went through. An unpopular choice at No. 13 overall in 2010, the defensive end suffered a serious injury as a rookie that essentially wiped out his sophomore year. He was a solid contributor after, but didn't earn a full-time starting job until 2015.

"I know how it is coming off injury," Graham said, "then putting that pressure on yourself can have you overdoing it and not being you because you're trying to reach and do more than you gotta do.

"[The coaches] understand you're a young guy. Sometimes you don't view yourself as that, but just take it one day at a time. I know it's hard to do that sometimes because you're trying to look at the future and you want to have success early, but if you just focus on attacking one day at a time - that's what I do now. I don't even worry about it. That's when it comes."

A first-round choice in 2015, Agholor struggled with drops and posted poor numbers his first two seasons. Production wasn't as much an issue for Ertz, the 35th selection in ‘13, but he didn't blossom into a Pro Bowler until Year 5 and once faced questions about his toughness.

"There's gonna be adversity," Ertz said. "I faced it early on in my career. I still face it, but you can look two ways - internally or externally - and the way you're able to be successful is if you look internally and try and get better."

Now, Agholor is coming off back-to-back 60-catch, 700-yard campaigns and Ertz just set an NFL record for catches in a single season by a tight end.

It's still early in Jones' career. 

"He's got all the talent in the world," Ertz said. "His potential is unbelievable. He's gotta come in here and put in the work and I think he's been doing that all offseason from what I've seen."

Much of what's happened to Jones so far has been out of his hands. Considered a likely top-10 pick, he ruptured his Achilles during a pre-draft workout and fell to the second round, where the Eagles swooped in knowing full well his rookie year was lost. He cracked the lineup in '18, but was in and out with more injuries.

Jones didn't play again after Week 14, and when he was on the field, his performance was uneven - not bad, though coupled with an injury-prone label, it raises concerns.

"I think his first year was really just a learning experience and trying to get healthy, so you really have to take that off the map," Schwartz said before Tuesday's practice. "Then last year, he started the year as a starter in the nickel position. Did some really good things in there when we were playing early in the year.

"And then all of a sudden, we started having injuries and had to move him around a little bit. Ended up playing outside a little bit more. He experienced some injuries and tried to battle through those and had mixed success doing that."

It's Year 3, and Jones is competing for a job. He has lined up in the nickel and at both left and right corner during OTAs.

Some might think it a disappointment he hasn't already earned a spot or solidified his role, yet Schwartz suggested these experiences will only aid Jones - the good and the bad.

"Those are all perspectives that will benefit him this year," Schwartz said. "He's had a little bit of success and also had some struggles. There is nothing wrong with that. I think everybody in life gets a little bit better when they experience some tough times and struggles."

Being a full year removed from rehabbing the Achilles should help, too, plus all the nagging injuries from a season ago are behind him now. Graham thinks Jones has the talent and confidence to silence the doubters, and he's already seeing that translate on the field this spring.

"I think he made a couple plays out there already," Graham said. "It's all about just fine tuning his technique and he'll get what he wants. All he has to do is stay focused and try not to overthink stuff because you don't have to."

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