Rutgers Football Top 10 Countdown: Bradlee Jones

The Knight Report counts down the days until kickoff by breaking down the Top 10 Players for Rutgers Football in 2026, revealing one each day until the start of the season. Cornerback addition Bradlee Jones clocks in at #7. Honorable Mentions (Just missed the cut): Kaj Sanders, Jourdin Houston, Moshood Giwa Profile A second defensive transfer enters the countdown, this time in the form of a multisport athlete from the FCS ranks. Jones joins the Scarlet Knights following three seasons at The Citadel. The Greenwood, South Carolina native would play for the local Emerald High School before joining the in-state The Citadel as an unranked recruit. Jones would represent the college both on the football field, and in track and field. He would play meaningful snaps as a freshman, totaling 384 across 11 games, including three starts. He would allow just 45.5% of passes to be completed when targeted, and came away with four pass deflections. Jones would log nearly 600 snaps as a sophomore, and start all but one game. He stuffed the stat sheet in 2024, coming away with 35 tackles, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, a sack, and three blocked kicks. He would have an illustrious season on the track, winning the SoCon championship in the 60 meter, 100 meter, and 200 meter. Jones also holds the program record for the 100 meter dash at 10.31 seconds. He would appear in all 12 games as a junior, compiling nine starts. Jones accumulated 54 tackles, nine pass deflections, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in 2025. Notably, the 6-foot, 185 pound cornerback did not come down with an interception in his three seasons with The Citadel. The transfer joins an overhauled cornerback room with the Scarlet Knights, and looks to put his athleticism to the test in the Big Ten. Coverage Jones clocked in 91.2% of his total snaps with The Citadel at boundary corner, and that is where he will play with Rutgers in 2026. Beyond experience at the position, he has the perfect athletic profile for it, as well as the long speed to rival Big Ten wide receivers. In 2025, Jones allowed 28 receptions for 372 yards and three touchdowns in 43 targets in coverage. He did not allow a reception on two occasions last season, and held receivers under 30 yards six different times. In notable games against North Dakota State and Ole Miss, he allowed a season-high six receptions for 69 yards on seven targets and four catches for 44 yards on four targets, respectively. He had one pass deflection across those two contests. In 2024, Jones allowed a similar stat line of 30 receptions on 45 targets for 457 yards and three scores. In a power conference matchup with Clemson, he allowed a season-high 108 yards and a score on seven targets. He allowed under 30 yards when targeted in coverage on seven occasions throughout the season. The big point of contestation or hesitation regarding Jones’ game will be his lack of ball production at a lower-level of football. Fortunately, takeaways are fickle and interceptions are not always indicative of sound defensive back play. Despite this, I am sure Rutgers is counting on some more takeaways this season. After three full seasons of College Football, perhaps Jones is due for that first career interception. Run Defense & Specials Jones also manages to involve himself in games in other ways, even if he is quietly doing his work on the boundary. He totaled 35 tackles as a sophomore, and that number jumped up to 54 as a junior. Typically tackles are not a good cornerback stat, but in some instances it is more representative of a poor defense front as opposed to bad secondary play. If the front seven allows more runs beyond the second level, then you are relying on defensive backs to finish off more plays. This is the case for Jones, as he actually allowed less receptions in 2025 than 2024. He just took more responsibility in getting his nose dirty in run defense. As he saw more tackling opportunities in each season of his career, he has steadily improved upon his missed tackle rate. It started out at 20% as a freshman, then 18.6% as a sophomore, and 16.9% as a junior. Jones also tallied 14 stops last season, which is a tackle that constitutes a failure for the offense. A large part of Jones’ contributions have also come on special teams. He has played almost 270 snaps on specials across three seasons. A prized ability by one Greg Schiano is the potential to block kicks. Jones managed to block three kicks as a sophomore. He also returned a fumble on a botched fake field for a touchdown as a junior. ICYMI: Bradlee Jones STOLE THE SHOW on the potential Charleston Southern game-winner in the closing seconds, speed-rushing off the left edge to log a BIG-TIME blocked kick!Check out top angles right here ⤵️#FireThoseCannons pic.twitter.com/wbiqsCIeai— The Citadel Football (@CitadelFootball) September 1, 2024 Grades All Advanced Metrics and Grades utilized are the credit of Pro Football Focus SEASON (TEAM)DEFRDEFTACKCOVPRSH2025 (CITADEL)75.268.557.474.869.12024 (CITADEL)72.887.467.569.881.12023 (CITADEL)63.861.150.064.059.1 Projected Role Jones will be a starting corner on the boundary from day one, where if all goes well, he will likely see close to 90% of the defensive snaps. His combination of size, speed, explosiveness, and experience at the position presents optimism for his future at the Big Ten level. It will be up to new defensive coordinator Travis Johansen and cornerbacks coach Eric Finney to turn those tools into ability against high major talent. Facing off against KJ Duff every day cannot hurt in that regard either. The most successful blocker of kicks since Schiano’s return has been Max Melton, of which Jones shares an extremely similar profile. At the NFL Combine in 2024, Melton measured in at 5-foot-11, 187 pounds, with a 4.39 40-yard dash. Melton did have top percentile explosiveness, with a 1.51 10-yard split, 40.5 inch vertical, and an 11-foot-4 broad jump – which is among the very best in NFL history. The 10.31 100 meter dash produced by Jones roughly equates to a 4.30 40-yard dash. The Scarlet Knights were not successful in coming away with blocks last season, so expect Jones to be deployed on special teams to help right that wrong in 2026.