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By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: As a 4-year starter, Jones was a mainstay on Houston’s offensive line and evolved into being a quality pro prospect. Jones then had a solid week at the Senior Bowl, and some in the media have hyped him as a first-round pick. In speaking with team sources, however, they have him graded significantly lower.
For pass protection, Jones is a good athlete to block on the edge. He has agility, size, and good-enough feet to take on edge rushers. With his athleticism, quickness and feet, Jones has starting potential given his ability to defend speed rushers off the edge. There are some parts of Jones’ technique that he could work to improve on for the pros, as sometimes he can bend a little at the waist, and in the NFL, it will hurt him to be sloppy by bending at the waist rather than at the knee. Adding strength is necessary to help Jones sustain blocks and give him a stronger base to handle edge rushers. However with his natural pass-blocking skills, Jones has starting potential for the next level.
Jones is below average as a run block for the NFL at this time. He is not overpowering. In college, he got away with using his mass to manipulate and lean on defenders given his weak competition, but that will be much less effective against pro defensive linemen. For the next level, Jones needs to get stronger or he won’t be a good contributor in the ground game. Jones dropped weight prior to his senior year, which helped his conditioning but hurt his strength at the point of attack. Thus, Jones needs developmental time in the weight room.
In the 2020 NFL Draft, Jones looks like he could be a second-day pick. It might best for him to start out his career as a backup, but he has the ability to work his way into being a starting offensive tackle. Multiple team sources say they graded Jones in the third round and think he could be a backup who turns into a starter at right tackle.
Player Comparison: Cedric Ogbuehi. Jones reminds me of a less athletic version of Ogbuehi coming out of Texas A&M. Ogbuehi (6-5, 308) and Jones are almost identical in terms of size, athleticism and quickness but have a lack of strength and power.
RELATED LINKS:
2020 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2020 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2020 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
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2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20
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Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
