Zay Jones

WR · East Carolina 2016 · #7

Last confirmed: East Carolina, 2016. No 2026 box-score games on record.

6′1″ · Austin, TX

Zay Jones: WR · East Carolina · #7.

Players he’s like

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Emanuel ThompsonTroy · 2016 · 91% season match
Lucky JacksonWestern Kentucky · 2019 · 90% season match
Justin HardyEast Carolina · 2014 · 64% season match
Nelson SpruceColorado · 2014 · 64% season match
Noel ThomasUConn · 2016 · 52% season match

Zay Jones

WR · East Carolina · #7

Wins underneath on volume and route precision. Three seasons at East Carolina, two different head coaches: Ruffin McNeill and Scottie Montgomery. One game to point at: 212 receiving yards and 12 receptions against Navy — Week 12, 2016.

How he plays

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

News and fans

No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.

Where to follow him

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2016	East Carolina	156	1,731	11.1	8
2015	East Carolina	98	1,099	11.2	5
2014	East Carolina	81	830	10.2	5
Career		335	3,660	10.9	18

Season	Team
2016	East Carolina	4	24	--	--
2015	East Carolina	1	−6	23	--
2014	East Carolina	--	--	475	8
Career		5	18	498	8

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2016 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 52-7vs Western Carolina	10	180	18.0	1	33	180-yard receiving day
Wk 2	W 33-30vs NC State	7	73	10.4	0	17
Wk 3	L 15-20@ South Carolina	22	190	8.6	0	15	190-yard receiving day
Wk 4	L 17-54@ Virginia Tech	10	115	11.5	0	33
Wk 5	L 29-47vs UCF	15	122	8.1	1	26
Wk 6	L 22-38@ South Florida	18	145	8.1	1	20	145-yard receiving day
Wk 8	L 19-31@ Cincinnati	11	69	6.3	0	17
Wk 9	W 41-3vs UConn	19	185	9.7	1	21	185-yard receiving day
Wk 10	L 24-45@ Tulsa	13	206	15.8	1	51	206-yard receiving day
Wk 11	L 31-55vs SMU	12	173	14.4	1	39	173-yard receiving day
Wk 12	L 31-66vs Navy	12	212	17.7	2	77	Season-high 212 yds
Wk 13	L 10-37@ Temple	7	61	8.7	0	14
Total		156	1731	11.1	8	77

Signature game

Week 12 · 2016

L 31-66

vs Navy

12 rec · 212 yds · 2 TD

With G. Minshew — 238 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 70.7 · W. Gregory — 42 yards per punt · 4 punts · 49 long

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 12 · Navy · 3rd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +7.10Gardner Minshew pass complete to Zay Jones for 77 yds for a TD, (Davis Plowman KICK)
Week 10 · Tulsa · 3rd and 9 · Q1 · EPA +5.95Philip Nelson pass complete to Zay Jones for 51 yds for a TD, (Davis Plowman KICK)
Week 10 · Tulsa · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +4.02Gardner Minshew pass complete to Zay Jones for 43 yds to the TULSA 27 for a TULSA Penalty, roughing passer (14 Yards) to the Tulsa 13 for a
Week 1 · Western Carolina · 3rd and 3 · Q1 · EPA +3.50Philip Nelson pass complete to Zay Jones for 33 yds to the WCaro 40 for a
Week 1 · Western Carolina · 3rd and 9 · Q2 · EPA +3.44Nelson to Jones: a 21-yard touchdown pass.
Week 1 · Western Carolina · 3rd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +3.19Philip Nelson pass complete to Zay Jones for 33 yds to the 50 yard line for a

4 more plays

Week 12 · Navy · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +3.19Gardner Minshew pass complete to Zay Jones for 40 yds for a TD, (Davis Plowman KICK)
Week 6 · South Florida · 4th and 3 · Q4 · EPA +3.17Gardner Minshew pass complete to Zay Jones for 15 yds to the SFla 47 for a
Week 12 · Navy · 3rd and 5 · Q1 · EPA +3.01Gardner Minshew pass complete to Zay Jones for 20 yds to the Navy 46 for a
Week 11 · SMU · 3rd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.93Philip Nelson pass complete to Zay Jones for 39 yds to the SMU 7 for a

Teams and coaches

2014East Carolina8-5HC: Ruffin McNeill · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

2015East Carolina5-7HC: Ruffin McNeill · Balanced

2016East Carolina3-9HC: Scottie Montgomery · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

Our ratings

Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

12 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: receptions (100th percentile). Strength: rec yards (100th percentile). Concern: td rate (26th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Catch rate#237 / 674 · 65th pct

71.2%

EPA / target#334 / 674 · 51st pct

0.50

Yards / catch#449 / 674 · 33rd pct

11.1

Explosive rate#473 / 674 · 30th pct

8.4%

TD rate#498 / 674 · 26th pct

2.3%

Box-score rates (7)

Receptions#1 / 524 · 100th pct

156

Rec yards#2 / 524 · 100th pct

1731

Long catch#50 / 524 · 90th pct

Rec TDs#46 / 524 · 90th pct

Rush yards#110 / 257 · 57th pct

Rush TDs#56 / 257 · 39th pct

Yards / catch#406 / 524 · 22nd pct

11.1

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2016 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	12.5	158	13.0	1.0
Road6g	13.5	131	9.8	0.3

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	13.7	138	10.8	0.5
Weeks 8+6g	12.3	151	12.1	0.8

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2016 season

Head Coach

Scottie Montgomery

Pass share

58.1%

552 pass / 398 run

Plays / game

79.2

12 games

Team sack rate

5.1%

594 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-leaning, fast tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2016

Impact starter

156 catches, 4 carries and 1 pass attempt in 12 games, more catches a game than nearly every FBS receiver who plays every week.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Zay Jones

Players he’s like

How he plays

News and fans

Where to follow him

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

Impact starter

Four seasons at East Carolina

His moves

2013