Cardale Jones won't be watching 1st round of NFL Draft

Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones seems content with his status as a second or third day NFL prospect, at this point.

The strong-armed passer famously returned to college after an impressive three-game stretch in the 2014 season, where he led the Buckeyes to a national title, and improved his draft stock immeasurably. Some talent evaluators believed Jones could've been the third quarterback off the board in the 2015 draft, but now he'll be lucky to crack the second round.

For his part, Jones is keeping a low profile leading up to his entrance into professional football and that includes not paying attention to the first round.

"Everyone wants me to have a draft party, but there's no way. I've been trying to stay low-key. I've changed my phone number three times since we won the 2014 national title," Jones wrote in an essay for Sports Illustrated. "I'm not planning on watching the first night of the draft - I'll be doing a heavy lifting workout - but on April 29, when the second and third rounds are announced, I have a recovery day. I'm just going to watch it in my apartment in Columbus."

Jones has a decent chance of hearing his name called during the third round, with teams enamored by his ability to develop into a starting caliber quarterback. But there's no denying his return to school hurt his value after he couldn't even hold onto a starting spot over teammate J.T. Barrett.