Marvin Jones – Biography, Wife, Children, Parents, Height, Weight

Quick Facts

Marvin Jones is an American football wide receiver, entrepreneur, and singer. He is attached to the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Jones was drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals following his college career with the University of California Golden Bears.

He signed as a free agent with the Lions in 2016 after 43 games in four years with the Bengals wherein he recorded 134 receptions for 1,729 yards and 15 touchdowns (TDs), including a career-high 10 in 2013. Widely acclaimed as a speedy wide receiver with proven hands, he is also one of the best deep threats in NFL. Here are all the juicy details about the star athlete including several mentions, awards, stats, down to personal matters like his family.

Marvin Jones Biography

Jones was born on March 12, 1990, in Los Angeles, California as Marvin Lewis Jones Jr. He started hauling in a ball at the age of age and had his father help him develop his hand-eye coordination by tossing objects like fruits at him. Football is not his only forte though as he is a man of many talents. He also sings and used to be in the church choir. When he is not in the field, you might possibly find the phenom in the recording studio in his basement. Little wonder, he landed a shot at the reality show, American Idol, far away from the gridiron space.

He attended Etiwanda High School, Rancho Cucamonga, California where he graduated from in 2008. While in school, he contributed immensely to his team where he became an all-time leading receiver, a Super Prep magazine All-American and All-Far West as well. He was also lauded as one of the best receiving prospects in the country. As a junior, Marvin Jones earned first-team All-State honors as a junior with 63 receptions for 1,309 yards and 12 touchdowns. His senior season was highly successful as well as productive. Therein, he led the Eagles to a share of the Baseline League regular-season championship after recording 81 receptions for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He enrolled at the University of California, Berkley in 2008 and graduated three and a half years later in December 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies. After appearing in only 5 games as a freshman, he started all 13 games in his sophomore season, totaling 43 catches, 651 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions. He was an eight-time team leader in receptions and four times in receiving yards during the season.

As a junior, he led the team for the second consecutive season in both receptions (50) and receiving yards (765) – he was subsequently named an Honorable Mention All-Pac 10. He also started all 12 games. In his final collegiate season, he had three touchdowns and recorded a career-high in both receptions and receiving yards with 62 and 846 respectively; he was also named Honorable Mention All-Pac-12. He finished his career with 38 of 43 game starts, recording 156 catches for 2,270 yards and 13 touchdowns. His accolades include a Cort Majors Captain Award on offense as one of the team’s four captains for the season and the Ken Harvey Award for the Player Showing Special Academic Commitment and Improvement.

NFL Career

The wide receiver had a dream come true to go pro when he was drafted in the fifth round (166th overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012. As a rookie, he started five of the 11 games he appeared in – totaling 18 receptions for 201 yards and scored his first career touchdown on an 11-yard pass from quarterback in a game against Baltimore. His first season was intercepted by a knee injury, leading to him missing five games therein. Nevertheless, he bounced back stronger and in a better form the following season which turned out to be a breakout season for the star.

Besides playing in all 16 games, he set a franchise record by scoring four touchdowns in a single game to go along with eight receptions for 122 yards in a game against the New York Jets. He finished the season catching 51 passes for 712 yards, had a career-high 10 TDs along with 65 rushing yards. With his career-high TDs, he became the first pair of Bengals along with to each record at least 10 receiving TDs in a season. In their postseason game against San Diego Chargers, he broke former wide receiver ‘s previous franchise record of 120 receiving yards in 1983 with a new record of 130 receiving yards on eight catches.

Foot and ankle injury hampered his 2014 season, resulting in no action for the whole year. That notwithstanding, he gets better in the game each year of his career with increasing receptions and receiving yards. He rebounded from his injury beset season in 2015, which was his last season with the Cincinnati based club, to start 13 of the 16 games catching 65 passes for 816 yards and four touchdowns.

He signed a five-year contract, until 2021, with the Detriot Lions worth $40 million as a free agent in March 2016. In his first season with the Lions, he played a big part in their success, establishing himself as an asset and sought after wide receiver. He has also had many firsts in the team as well as broke several other records set by other players. He recorded 408 yards, becoming the first Lions player to reach 400 yards in the first three games of the season as well as ranked first in the league in receiving yards and receiving yards per game with 136.0 through the first three weeks.

Furthermore, he added five catches for 74 yards in the next game to surpass WR ‘s 2012 previous high of 423 yards with a new high of 482 which is the most by any player in Lions history through the first four games. He ended the season with a career-high 930 receiving yards on 55 receptions. In the 2017 season, he scored his first TD, a 27-yard reception from QB against the New York Giants in September. Talk about Stafford, Jones has established himself as the former’s favorite big-play target by hauling in deep passes from the quarterback.

Family – Parents, Wife, Children

The Lions wideout was born to Marvin Jones Sr. and Pamela Harper. His father was an accomplished athlete in his own right. He was a wrestler and an alternate on the 1984 and ’88 Greco-Roman Olympic team. Jones credits his father for his aggressiveness, drive, versatility and athletic skills. He has four children; two sons and two daughters. While Marvin is a wonder in the gridiron, one of his sisters, Vanessa (the other one is Leslie) has the speed on tracks. As a senior in USC, she won the 400-meter title at the 2015 Pac-12 championships for her team.

Marvin who was born into a family of six has also built a pack of six with his high school sweetheart turned wife, Jazmyn Jones (nee Mathis). Jazmyn is a Fontana, California native and attended Etiwanda High School as well as studied at Berkeley City College. She is also a licensed vocational nurse. The duo was officially married in March 2014 and had their honeymoon in an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica.

He became a parent for the first time when he was just setting out as a freshman in college at the age of 18. Their first child, a boy named Marvin Jones III, was born on January 12, 2009, two years after the then teenagers started dating. The athlete credits fatherhood with maturing him and giving him more responsibility as well as making him grounded, focused and stable at a time in his life when he was just learning to face the world. Since then, they have added three more tots to their fold, two sons, and a daughter.

Their second son, Mareon Lamont Jones who shares the same initials with his grandfather, father and big brother was born on Halloween in October 2011 and was followed by his younger brother, Murrell years later. The princess of the family, their fourth child and first daughter, Mya Love came on October 27, 2016. Added to being an accomplished athlete, he set his eyes on a new venture; with his wife, located in Troy, Michigan.

Since the inception of his career, Marvin Jones Jr. has not only established himself as one of the best deep threats in the league but has wonderfully combined it with a great journey through fatherhood which he considers his greatest achievement and the secret behind his successful career.

Height, Weight

The gridiron standout stands at 6′ 2″ (1.88 m) tall with a matching body weight of 199 lb (90 kg). Marvin Jones other body measurements include:

Arm Length: 33 1⁄8 inches (0.84 m)

Hand Size: 10 1⁄4 inches (0.26 m)

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