DaQuan Jones
New England PatriotsUNDERPAIDModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
Tier 8 (#62) in 2024 to tier 2 (#16) bounce-back in 2025 is a 46-spot one-year jump that's one of the most remarkable late-career interior defender reinventions for a 12-year veteran. The Penn State Big Ten 4th-round origin plus 12 years of NFL survival gives him the rare journeyman late-career arc. The 2026 question is whether Jones holds tier 3 or better at age 34 or whether the structural late-career decline reasserts.
Jones came out of Penn State as the Tennessee Titans' 4th-round pick (112th overall) in 2014 and has bounced through the Titans, Panthers, and now Bills across 12 NFL seasons. His STTM career runs tier 5 (#39) in 2021, tier 5 (#36) in 2022, tier 3 (#24) in 2023, tier 8 (#62) in 2024, and tier 2 (#16) bounce-back in 2025.
Strengths
- Tier 2 (#16) bounce-back at age 33 plus 12 years of NFL survival as a 2014 4th-round pick puts him in the rarest journeyman late-career class.
- Penn State Big Ten pedigree plus the multi-team experience gives him real plug-in veteran market value across schemes.
Concerns
- Career STTM volatility (tier 3 in 2023, tier 8 in 2024, tier 2 in 2025) confirms the ceiling is highly team-fit and scheme dependent.
- Age 34 plus 12 years of interior-line wear puts the structural late-career closure question on every 2026 projection.
What to watch: Whether Jones holds tier 4 or better in 2026 at age 34, the threshold for confirming the late-career ceiling is sustained.
DaQuan Jones Injury StatusNot listed
DaQuan Jones is not on the injury report as of Oct 2. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Of the 450 players taken as a fourth-rounder between 2012 and 2021, 38% earned a second contract and 26% became starters. The median one started 11 career games.