Miller projects that, depending on how Jones performs in workouts and interviews, he would likely wind up a second- or third-round pick in the upcoming draft.
While Florida State's Jameis Winston and Oregon's Marcus Mariota appear to be the only surefire first-round signal-callers in 2015, Jones makes for an intriguing-enough prospect that he could ultimately bypass UCLA's Brett Hundley and Baylor's Bryce Petty to become the third quarterback selected this spring.
Asked for an NFL comparison for Jones, Miller pointed to Cam Newton, whom the Carolina Panthers selected first overall in 2011.
"There aren’t many guys who are that big, that fast and have an arm like that," Miller said. "Cam was so inexperienced when he came out of Auburn too. He had one year in the NCAA and really didn’t work in a real advanced-passing offense. He was just kind of an athlete with a big arm, and I think Jones is the same thing.”
But the 6'5", 248-pound Newton had at least had a full season under his belt, capturing a Heisman Trophy en route to leading Auburn to a national championship in 2010. While Jones' three starts may have been on the three largest stages possible, they still are only three starts, leaving many to wonder what he'd look like—for better or worse—with an entire season under his belt.
Miller, however, says that Jones' experience—or lack thereof—could ultimately work in his favor. With fewer games to pick apart, teams will find fewer reasons to fall out of love with the national-champion quarterback, and thus they could be more willing to spend a valuable draft pick on his services.
"He hasn’t had as many games to scrutinize, so you’re going to have to guess a little bit," Miller said. "You’re looking at three games on film where he dominated people, so a lot of it is going to come down to what he can do on the white board and how teams feel about him as a leader.”
