Charlie Jones (American football, born 1998)

Charlie Jones (born October 29, 1998) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo, Iowa, and Purdue. Jones was an All-American with Purdue in 2022, and was selected by the Bengals in the 2023 NFL draft.

Early life
Jones grew up in Deerfield, Illinois and attended Deerfield High School. He committed to play college football at Buffalo over offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, and Wyoming.

Buffalo
Jones began his collegiate career at Buffalo. He redshirted his true freshman season. As a redshirt freshman, Jones caught 18 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns and returned 15 kickoffs for 289 yards. Jones said he "liked it at Buffalo" where he "got to learn a lot as a young player" but, after star players Tyree Jackson, Anthony Johnson and K. J. Osborn either declared for the NFL draft or transferred, Jones also entered the transfer portal. He felt he could "play against the best of the best" and expected to receive scholarship offers from more prestigious programs but received none. Nonetheless, he chose to transfer to Iowa where he felt "walk-ons traditionally get a fair chance."

Iowa
Jones joined the Iowa Hawkeyes as a walk-on and sat out his first season at Iowa due to NCAA transfer rules. He entered his first season at Iowa as the team's primary punt returner. Jones finished the 2020 season with 21 punt returns for 221 yards and one touchdown and was named second team All-Big Ten Conference as a returner by the league's coaches. He was also awarded a scholarship during the season. As a redshirt senior, Jones was named first team All-Big Ten and the Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year after he returned 37 punts for 285 yards and also returned 25 kickoffs for 635 yards and one touchdown. He was also a starter at receiver for the Hawkeyes and had 21 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns. After the season, Jones entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Purdue
Jones ultimately transferred to Purdue for his final season of eligibility. Jones took the opportunity to reunite with childhood friend, Aidan O’Connell, who was the current starting quarterback for the Boilermakers. At Purdue, Jones caught 110 passes, becoming just one of three Boilermakers in history to record 100 catches in a single season and set the school-record for receiving yards in a single season with 1,361 yards. Jones’ 12 receiving touchdowns are also the 4th most in school history in a single season. Following the 2022 Big Ten Championship Game, Jones decided to forgo participation in the 2023 Citrus Bowl and prepare for the 2023 NFL draft. Jones was a consensus Second Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten recipient. Jones led the nation in receptions, finished second in receiving yards, and fifth in receiving touchdowns.

Professional career
Jones was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round, 131st overall, of the 2023 NFL Draft.

In the Bengals' Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Jones would score his first NFL touchdown on an 81-yard punt return; this would also be the first touchdown of the Bengals' 2023 season. He suffered a thumb injury in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams and was placed on injured reserve on September 29, 2023. He was activated on November 16.