FOXBORO -- When the Patriots drafted Chandler Jones in April, the default comparison for many was Jason Pierre-Paul. The Giants’ long, lean pass-rusher has the same body type (Pierre-Paul is 6-foot-5 and 278 pounds, while Jones is 6-foot-5, 265 pounds), and is a defensive end who easily can create chaos for offensive linemen.

It’s lofty praise: Pierre-Paul had played only one season of FBS ball at South Florida (with only seven starts), but he showed in that season that he was a special type of player with his ability to get after the quarterback. And in two years with the Giants, Pierre-Paul has 111 tackles, 21 sacks and four forced fumbles in regular-season action.

Jones had a good summer. But like any smart rookie, he didn’t want to touch the comparison when asked about it last month.

“Jason Pierre-Paul is a great player,” Jones said. “And I’m a different player from him. I’m not going to sit here and compare us two. But he’s a great player and I respect his game. I have no comment on the comparison.”

With the understanding that Jones has yet to take a regular-season snap for the Patriots, there’s already a belief he has the potential to have the same sort of impact defensively that Pierre-Paul has had in his two seasons in the league. In three preseason games -- he sat out the finale against the Giants -- Jones drew three holding penalties on opposing tackles and added a sack for good measure.

It wasn’t all positives -- there were times where he over-ran plays and missed assignments. But at the same time, Jones clearly was playing like someone beyond his years.

“He’s a specimen, man,” said New Orleans left tackle Jermon Bushrod, who went up against him in joint practices and compared him to Pierre-Paul. “I don’t have too much else to say.”

One NFC scout who watched Jones as a collegian utilizes the same glowing terms to describe him that many have used when talking about Pierre-Paul, saying the defensive end has the same sort of game-changing impact that the South Florida product has displayed in his first two seasons in New York.

“Part of the issue with coverage and secondary last year in New England was lack of consistent pass rush off the edge especially after the loss of [Andre] Carter. They were able to get push up middle consistently but had to try to manufacture edge pressure,” the scout said.

“Jones will get pressure with length and speed and be able to create edge pressures to complement middle push. It will also allow them to do different things coverage-wise with disguises and different zone pressure packages.”

Chris Brown, who breaks down the game on a daily basis for the site SmartFootball.com and is the author of “The Essential Smart Football,” said that the Jones/Pierre-Paul comparison is not “irrational” in that they’re both long, lean, athletic pass-rushers. At the same time, given Pierre-Paul’s production and the fact that Jones has yet to take a regular-season snap, it’s “maybe a slightly premature one," Brown added.

Brown believes that one thing that links them is the fact that they were difficult to evaluate as collegians. Pierre-Paul didn’t have massive production because he was just so new to football at South Florida. Jones, by contrast, was a relatively well-known prospect coming out of high school. And while Jones produced, he missed time due to injuries and thus was a bit of an unknown quantity when it came to evaluating him.

“This shared circumstance led to difficulty in evaluating them both -- and arguably is why they were, in JPP’s case, or maybe in Jones’ case, relative steals in where they were drafted,” Brown said. “Indeed, Pierre-Paul was exactly the kind of player I had extreme difficulty evaluating out of college. Almost completely raw as a football player, he was a first-rounder based almost entirely on his athletic prowess: his size, speed, quicks, agility and overall athleticism screamed 'elite pass rusher,' with the only caveat being that he had never really been one in college.

“Jones, on the other hand, was a bit more of a traditional prospect. He had a few games where he’d vanish, but pretty much the story with him was that when he played he’d dominate, but he had to battle through some injuries. In 2012, Jones missed five games, but then, coming off a bye for Syracuse, completely sandbagged West Virginia as he came out and blitzkrieged an unsuspecting WVU offensive line. Keep in mind West Virginia won 10 games and scored 70 points in their BCS game, and they absolutely had no answer for Jones the entire game.”

But ultimately, for Jones to follow Pierre-Paul’s path, lots of things have to fall into place.

“Will he be as good as Pierre-Paul? Jones clearly has a lot of potential, but whether he gets there seems to be a function of several factors,” Brown said. ”First, JPP has proven that he has great work ethic and desire to go with his athleticism. There are no warning signs with Jones, but to be elite you need to be elite in all phases, including preparation and work ethic.

“Second, avoiding injuries will be key. Jones doesn’t have any problematic injury history I know of, but lean, fast-twitch pass-rusher is a finely tuned position, and little injuries can greatly reduce effectiveness,” he added. “And, finally, he’ll need more help around him. We know Vince Wilfork can tie up the middle, but one reason JPP has been successful is that, when healthy, the Giants have a bunch of great pass-rushers. For Jones to truly succeed, he’ll need his teammates to take the pressure off him as well.

“But, at least at this very early juncture, Jones’ future seems extremely bright.”