Landry Jones announced Thursday he is returning to Oklahoma for his senior season instead of entering the NFL draft. Jones regressed in nearly every statistical category and finished with a worse record (10-3) than he did last season (12-2). Landry threw for 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions a year after tossing 38 TDs and 12 picks. His 63.2 completion percentage was down from last year’s 65.6% mark.
Jones’ stock dropped during the team’s final three games of the regular season. He failed to throw a touchdown in any of the three games while his team went 1-2.
Not only will he have a chance for more success next season, but he’ll also be able to improve his draft stock.
The other consequence to Jones’ decision is that it strengthens the value of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Jones, along with Matt Barkley, are top prospects who decided to return to school. Previously, teams may have felt that they didn’t need to move up in the draft to select a top quarterback. Now the price to swap with Minnesota or St. Louis — should either team decided to trade their top 3 pick — will be much greater. I think the price for both players (particularly Luck) will be worth it.
