Ex-USC football star running back plans to sign with offensive juggernaut

NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero has reported that the Kansas City Chiefs plan on signing former star USC football running back Ronald Jones II in free agency.

Jones was previously with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he had an up-and-down tenure. In his first year, he dealt with injuries and struggled to adjust to the NFL. He was handed the ball just 23 times, and ran for just 44 yards. He scored just one touchdown and caught seven passes for 33 yards.

The next year, however, was a different story. He recorded 724 yards on the ground (4.2 yards per carry) while staying healthy the whole year and scored six touchdowns while also catching 31 passes for 309 receiving yards. That was despite playing in a multi-back system. The Chiefs will also use multiple running backs, which is no problem for Jones as he has proven that he can produce in those situations.

Former USC football RB Ronald Jones II is a perfect fit for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ex-USC football running back Ronald Jones II further proved just how special of a back he can be in his third year in the league, where he averaged over five yards per carry and racked up 978 rushing yards. He added 28 catches for 165 yards through the air. He totaled eight touchdowns (seven rushing, one receiving).

He was able to do that despite having Leonard Fournette in the same backfield as him. He was a key component of their Super Bowl run that year. Last year, Fournette kind of took over the backfield due to his strong dominance, but Jones still played well when he had the chance. He still averaged 4.2 yards per carry.

Rushing in the backfield with Jones will be Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Derrick Gore, and Brenden Knox. Jones will certainly be ahead of Gore and Knox on the depth chart. The worst case scenario is that Jones will be the No. 2 back behind Edwards-Helaire, but Jones already proved that he can be productive in a two or more back system.

Also, Jones is of course now reunited with former USC teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster. The two of them won a Rose Bowl together at SC, and now have the chance to win a Super Bowl together. The two second round NFL Draft picks each upgraded teams; going to a Chiefs team that made the Conference Championship last season--going further than RoJo's 2021 Bucs and JuJu's 2021 Steelers.