Buckeyes national title hero Cardale Jones lands with the Bills

Cardale Jones watched eight quarterbacks get selected in the NFL draft before he finally heard his name called. Ohio State's hero from the 2014 season finally went off the board with the last pick of the fourth round, to the Buffalo Bills with a compensatory pick. Jones was taken 139th overall on Saturday.

Jones' decision to go back to school for one more season has been debated many times, though Jones himself never has seemed too stressed about it.

Jones was in a unique situation after the 2014 season. He started just three games, and they were a win in the Big Ten championship game and two wins in the College Football Playoff. He could have left Ohio State with a national title and a pristine reputation. NFL teams would have had to have made a tough decision based on incomplete data, but practically everything Jones put on film for them was very good. Jones had the arm strength, great size, and good athleticism. ESPN’s Mel Kiper said he thought Jones would have been a second-round pick had he declared last year, though we've seen plenty of quarterbacks slip in the draft once NFL teams start to pick apart their flaws. Ask Matt Barkley. Or Connor Cook.
Jones didn't think he was ready, so he went back to school. He won a battle to be Ohio State's starter, but didn't play great. He was eventually benched for J.T. Barrett.

It's easy to second-guess Jones now, because it's likely he cost himself some money by coming back. But Jones has maintained all along that he has no regrets, and that's understandable. Life is about more than money and NFL draft status, and Jones enjoyed his final year at Ohio State. He says he's comfortable with how it all went down.

“I definitely wouldn’t trade my time and that season for anything in the world,” he told the Columbus Dispatch. “I wish 2015 had gone differently, not just for me but for our team overall. But it’s definitely made not just me but my teammates better, that adversity we had to handle."

The landing spot is interesting. Tyrod Taylor is coming off a good year, but there are some contract issues the Bills will have to work through. And Taylor has played well for only one season. It's possible Taylor will be the Bills' starter for many years to come, but it's no sure thing.

Jones couldn't start right now. A lot of his flaws were exposed the more he played last season. But he has some skills and he'll have time to develop as a quarterback. Perhaps he'll be ready when and if the Bills need him.

Jones likely would have gone higher in the draft had he come out last season. But he doesn't seem to have any concerns about what happened. Now he gets a chance to make his NFL name with the Bills.