In his fourth season with the Vikings, outside linebacker Patrick Jones II has put down roots in Minnesota after a childhood spent globetrotting on the go.
Born in Japan to a military family, Jones spent much of his childhood traveling. He moved from Jacksonville, to Italy, back to Japan, and Virginia in an eight-year span. He experienced a lot overseas: climbing Mount Vesuvius and Mount Fuji, skiing the German Alps, skating at an Olympic rink in Munich and playing all sorts of sports – requiring the ability to adapt and try new things.
Fortunately for the Vikings, one interest stuck no matter where he lived.
“My cousins lived over here and played football. When you have older family members you wanna be like them. I played all sorts of sports but it was always something about football I knew I wanted to do it,” Jones told Heavy Sports in an exclusive interview. “No matter how good I was at those sports, I knew I wanted to play football.”
Selected in the third round of the 2021 draft, Jones’ ability to learn and adapt has served him and the Vikings well. Originally drafted as a 4-3 defensive end under Mike Zimmer, Jones was caught in the winds of the regime change in 2022 after Zimmer’s firing.
For Jones, it was a new year, a new coordinator and a new defense each of his first three seasons in Minnesota.
But in his second season under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Jones has thrived, tallying the third-most sacks on the team with 7.0 sacks in an evolved role as an outside linebacker.
In partnership with Polaris and Call of Duty, Jones took some time out of his schedule to talk with Heavy Sports about how his upbringing has lent itself to a breakout season in a contract year.
Vikings LB Pat Jones’ Path to the NFL
Image courtesy of the Minnesota VikingsVikings LB Pat Jones’ path to the NFL is as rare as they come. He’s the only player from Japan’s Department of Defense Education Activities (DODEA) high school to reach the NFL.
While the Vikings’ gameday program lists Jones’ hometown as Chesapeake, Virginia, where he played in he admitted that’s not quite where he got his start in football.
Jones first played for Japan’s Department of Defense Education Activities (DODEA) high school as a freshman before his family moved to Virginia in 2013. He couldn’t have landed in tougher territory, playing Class 6A football in the state’s Southeastern District.
Accustomed to muscling his way through opposing linemen, Jones couldn’t get away with being the bigger player anymore. At 15 years old, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Jones was called up to varsity practice and had to face teammates who were 300-plus pounds – his welcome to Virginia football moment.
“Everyone was definitely bigger,” Jones said, adding that his high school coaching staff tried him at quarterback, safety, middle linebacker and eventually defensive end, to find anywhere they could get him on the field to exploit his athleticism.
Jones had to adapt. He began lifting weights and grew into his 6-foot-4, 260-pound frame. He continued to learn the position, becoming a top prospect in the state of Virginia and refined his hand-fighting techniques as part of a menacing Pitt defensive line.
Jones led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in sacks his senior year and ranked fifth nationally with 9.0 sacks as an All-American in 2020. He finished his college career with 21.5 sacks and five forced fumbles before landing in Minnesota.
Jones’ Breakout Season a Product of His Coachability
Image courtesy of Minnesota VikingsVikings LB Pat Jones pursues a Packers skill player during a Week 4 matchup at Lambeau Field.
Versatility was a trait Flores touted often when describing the players that would fit his defensive scheme when he arrived in 2023 — and Jones has ultimately fit the bill.
Jones was primed for the change of his role to outside linebacker after showing he could be malleable at Pitt. Certain packages called for him to line up at nose tackle, put his hand in the dirt and stand up as a linebacker at the line of scrimmage.
“Moving around a lot my whole life, it definitely helped me tremendously when I first came into the NFL,” Jones said. “When I first came here, we were under a different [general manager] and head coach and ran a different defense. Next year… moved to outside linebacker. Another defense. I had to learn and adjust.”
After getting to the quarterback just once last season in Flores’ pilot year, Jones has played a vital role in the Vikings pass rush. He’s feasted with multi-sack games three times this season. And when he isn’t wrapping up the quarterback, Jones has found ways to make plays, posting career highs in quarterback hits, tackles and tackles for loss.
“Flo’s scheme is a whole different ball game,” Jones said. “I have to learn and adjust to that and really adapt from being a bigger D-end to being able to play to linebacker, to move more drop and be in space.”
Finding stability and continuity in his final year in Minnesota, Jones admitted he hasn’t given his upcoming free agency much thought with the Vikings looking like contenders this season.
“I’m just worrying about making plays to put my team in a position to win. We’re just going to go all the way, win out, win a Super Bowl and finish on top” Jones said. “That’s the plan. That’s what we’re dedicated to.”
Regardless of where Jones ends up next offseason, Minnesota has felt like home to the globetrotting 26-year-old.
“Home is wherever your loved ones are at, for real, your family as well,” Jones said. “Family is not always just blood. Family is people you trust people you enjoy being around. Wherever I have my people that’s where home is for me.”
Pat Jones, Ivan Pace Play Call of Duty With Minnesota Veterans to Support Endowment Fund
Photo courtesy of PolarisVikings LB Pat Jones plays Call of Duty with Marine Corps veteran and Vikings fan Dylan Gott.
Partnering with Call of Duty and Polaris, Jones and inside linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. played the new season of Call of Duty: Warzone with Minnesota veterans in support of the Call of Duty Endowment program. Those same veterans were surprised with their own Polaris vehicles at halftime during the Vikings’ Week 13 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Through March 28, fans across the country can visit Alltroo to enter a sweepstakes to win a 2025 Polaris RZR Pro R 4 and a custom Xbox console in support of the Call of Duty Endowment program, which helps veterans get placed in high-quality careers after service and promotes veteran wellbeing.
Jones said the partnership offered him an opportunity to use his platform to spread awareness of what military veterans and families go through.
“It’s an important thing to me, it’s an important part of my life,” he said. “I want to use my journey to help inspire other people.”
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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