Who is Charlie Jones? Cincinnati Bengals return rookie receiver to active roster
After selecting three defensive players in the first three rounds of the 2023 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals turned to the offensive side of the ball with their fourth-round pick: Purdue receiver Charlie Jones.
Nicknamed "Chuck Sizzle," Jones didn't waste time paying dividends, returning a punt 81 yards for a touchdown in the second game of his rookie season with the Bengals, against the Ravens in Cincinnati.
He missed several games with a thumb injury, but was returned to the active roster from the Reserve/Injured list ahead of the Bengals' Thursday Night Football game in Baltimore.
Jones is known for his hands and ability to make contested catches, in addition to strong return skills.
"I couldn't be more excited," Bengals receivers coach Troy Walters said of Jones in April, per The Enquirer's Kelsey Conway, adding that Jones can play inside and out.
What to know about the Bengals' receiver and punt returner:
Jones is older than Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and several other players on the Bengals' roster.
Dax Hill, Tycen Anderson, Jackson Carman, Allan George, Jeff Gunter, Trey Hill, Evan McPherson, Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample, Cam Taylor-Britt, Jay Tufele, Zach Carter and Owen Carney also are younger than Jones, who redshirted as a freshman in 2017, played one season at Buffalo in 2018, sat out the 2019 season, played two seasons at Iowa and finished his college career with a season at Purdue.
However, Jones was not the oldest player in the Bengals' 2023 draft class. Punter and sixth-round pick Brad Robbins is 23 days older than Jones.
Jones' season at Purdue went much better statistically than his seasons at Iowa.
Jones had 21 catches for 323 yards with three touchdowns over 14 games with the Hawkeyes in 2021. He had 110 receptions for 1,361 yards with 12 TDs for the Boilermakers last season. That's a big difference.
Jones led the FBS in receptions, and finished second in the FBS in receiving yardage. He earned first-team all-Big Ten and AP second-team All-American honors in 2022.
When Jones left Buffalo for Iowa, he joined the Hawkeyes' program as a walk-on.
Jones also wasn't eligible to play for the Hawkeyes immediately, so he had to sit out a season as a transfer. Iowa did give him a scholarship in Dec. 2020, and he became the third player in Iowa history with both a kickoff return and punt return touchdown.
He earned first-team all-Big Ten return specialist honors by league coaches and media in 2021 before leaving for Purdue.
Jones starred in the Big Ten Conference Championship against Michigan, despite Purdue's loss.
The Boilermakers lost the Big Ten title game to the Wolverines, 43-22. But Jones had a game-high 13 catches for 162 yards in his final collegiate game. (Jones opted out of Purdue's bowl game.)
Jones' 13 catches were his most in one game in college. His receiving total was second only to the 188-yard effort he had earlier in the season against Syracuse.
Jones' quarterback at Purdue, Aidan O'Connell, was drafted in the same round as Jones.
Four picks after the Bengals took Jones with the 131st overall pick, the Las Vegas Raiders selected O'Connell 135th, the final pick of the fourth round.
Also, Jones and O'Connell were childhood friends, both from the Chicago suburbs. Jones' hometown of Deerfield is less than 10 miles from O'Connell's hometown of Long Grove.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Charlie Jones? Cincinnati returns rookie WR/PR to active roster
