By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: Jones was a backup in 2020 and 2021, but injuries forced him onto the field in crunch time. Jones became the Bulldogs starting left tackle for the final four games of the 2021 season, and he helped them to finish off their National Championship. In 2022, Jones was the program’s starting left tackle and put together a good season of protecting Stetson Bennett while their team repeated as the National Champion.
Jones has aggression and a mean streak as a run blocker. Finding nasty bullies up front is getting more difficult because the uptempo and spread concepts have changed the game. Jones is a throwback who blocks through the whistle, pushes defenders around, buries them into the ground, and finishes them off with violence. He has developed strength to push defenders out of their gaps and open holes in the ground game. With heavy hands, Jones is able to sustain his blocks after shocking defenders back. He also has the quickness and athleticism to get to the second level. He can pull and could fit either a zone- or power-man-blocking scheme.
In pass protection, Jones has the quickness and agility to mirror speed rushers. He also has a strong base to hold up against bull rushes. While Jones has talent and technique, he lacks length, and that could be problematic for him in the NFL. Longer defensive ends and rush linebackers could give him issues in terms of being able to shed his blocks.
Jones might be a candidate to move inside to guard in the NFL. While he has gotten a lot of first-round hype from the media, sources from seven different NFL teams told WalterFootball.com they had Jones graded on the second day of the 2023 NFL Draft. He is likely to be a second-round pick. He still has a shot at being a late first-round pick, however, because he plays a premium position and some players with second-round grades often sneak into Round 1 because there aren’t enough prospects with first-round grades.
Player Comparison: Charles Leno. Jones reminds me of Leno (6-4, 310). Leno may be slightly quicker, although Jones is a little stronger and nastier.
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