Byron Jones has gone from obscurity to possible first-round pick pretty much in the time it took him to unofficially break the world broad jump record at the NFL Combine in February. And in two weeks, he'll be in Chicago, as one of the 26 players invited by the league to attend the 2015 NFL Draft in person.
Jones will join three other members of the secondary to get invites: Wake Forest's Kevin Johnson, Michigan State's Trae Waynes and Alabama's Landon Collins.
At Jones' pro day last month, he made it clear that being a good football player is about more than jumping high or running fast. It seems obvious, but fans, media and even some coaches lose sight of that fact this time of year.
"My main goal is not to be a world-record holder or run the fastest 40, my main goal is to be a great NFL player,"Jones said. "This is a small step in my journey towards being a great NFL player."
Jones is projected to go somewhere in the first two rounds.
Here's the full list of prospects set to attend:
Arik Armstead, DL, Oregon Vic Beasley, DE/LB, Clemson
La’el Collins, OL, LSU
Landon Collins, S, Alabama
Bud Dupree, LB, Kentucky
Cameron Erving, OL, Florida State
Dante Fowler, DE/LB, Florida
Melvin Gordon, RB Wisconsin
Randy Gregory, DE/LB, Nebraska
Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
D.J. Humphries, OL, Florida
Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut
Benardrick McKinney, LB, Mississippi State
DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
Andrus Peat, OL, Stanford
Breshad Perriman, WR, Central Florida
Shane Ray, DL, Missouri
Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa
Danny Shelton, DL, Washington
Devin Smith, WR, Ohio State
Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
Laken Tomlinson, OL, Duke
Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
Leonard Williams, DL, USC