NFL Draft Profile: Christian Jones, Offensive Tackle, Texas Longhorns

NFL draft profile scouting report for Texas offensive tackle, Christian Jones

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#70
Pos: OT
Ht: 6060
Wt: 314
DOB: 5/12/_
Eligible: 2022
Cypress, TX
Cypress Woods High School

Christian Jones
Texas Longhorns

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Pros:

Ezring: The Texas Longhorns have recently enjoyed a rise back towards the top of the college football landscape. One reason for the team’s success in 2020 was right tackle, Christian Jones. Still relatively new to the game of football, the lineman boasts an NFL frame and intriguing traits. An impressive mover for his size, Jones has the athleticism to mirror defenders both before contact and after latching on. What’s more, his movement skills allow offensive coordinators to use him creatively in the run game. After doubling to climb, pulling or getting to space by other means, Jones is efficient engaging at the second level. Further, the Longhorns’ standout displays notable power to anchor down through contact to his frame. Conversely, he outputs a reasonable force to jolt defenders and even displace them. His relentless leg drive and grip strength make him a people-mover in the run game. He finishes blocks on the ground whenever he has the opportunity. A somewhat flexible athlete, Jones will only enhance his power profile once he learns to properly distribute his weight and roll his hips. In pass protection up the outside track, the Texas blocker flashes a power step against inside rushes. His occasional trap technique is promising considering his inexperience. Jones consistently recognizes stunts.

Cons:

Ezring: Unfortunately, athletic ability does not directly and indisputably translate to NFL success. A well-rounded athlete, Jones does not definitively show the traits to handle top-tier speed or power in the league. More importantly, Jones is, understandably, extremely raw. He bites on salesmanship and overcommits early; this compromises his balance and reduces his functional power while recovering. Additionally, the Longhorns’ standout tends to follow his opponents rather than cut them off. These angles lead him to inaccurate and awkward punches. Upon contact, Jones’s resting high pad level surrenders his chest. What’s more, his consistently late and inaccurate hands only further invite hands to his frame. The athletic tackle struggles to control and latch onto defenders. He uses his length poorly, allowing opponents to establish distance before stacking to shed. Moreover, Jones employs choppy footwork in his pass sets and out of his stance in the run game. He narrows his base frequently, limiting his functional power and ability to mirror. The Texas native’s feet stagnate behind his punches. At this stage in his development, Jones tends to lean into his base rather than sit in the chair and use his length. He needs to learn to roll his hips through blocks. In vertical sets, he offers a soft inside shoulder. Jones’s inexperience shows in his inability to recognize and address delayed blitzers or rushers from the second level. He tends to hold opponents when beaten.

Summary:

Ezring: Still new to the game of football, Christian Jones has only played two full seasons on the offensive line entering 2021 - one of those came in high school. Still, the Texas native offers an intriguing blend of size, movement skills and natural power. All the same, his technique is entirely raw and must be overhauled before he can see an NFL field. A high-risk, high-reward player, Jones is a developmental piece with a chance to become an NFL starter.

Background:

Born May 12th in Houston, Texas to parents Noel Jones and Stacey Hall, Christian Jones is one of two siblings along with his sister, Leila. A standout person who volunteered to help victims both during and after Hurricane Harvey during his time in high school, the Texas native had a unique path to football at Cypress Woods High School. Jones played soccer throughout his younger years and during his freshman and sophomore falls. In fact, he did not play football until his junior year of high school. As a defensive end that 2016 season, he recorded 17 tackles and earned Academic All-District 17-6A honors. Jones moved to the offensive line as a senior and was named team captain. In his final campaign, he helped lead the way for a prolific rushing offense that put up 236.6 yards per game. After the 2017 season, Jones received First-team All-District 17-6A and Academic All-District honors. The Houston Chronicle listed the talented lineman in its Houston Top 100 area recruits. As a result of Jones’s interesting high school football career, 247Sports Composite Rankings listed the athlete as a strong-side defensive end but ranked him as a tackle. The site gave him a three-star rating and named him the 724th recruit nationally. It also ranked him the 56th-best offensive tackle in his class and the 101st-overall player from Texas in his year. Jones saw a slow start to his Longhorns career. He did not play in 2018. In 2019, he played in 13 games in a special teams role. In 2020, though, he broke out. The then third-year sophomore started all 10 of the team’s games - the first eight at right tackle before moving to left tackle for the regular-season finale and back to right tackle in the Alamo Bowl. Jones was a key piece of a Texas offense that scored 42.7 points per game, good for second-best in school history. The Longhorns’ standout earned Academic All-Big 12 Second Team in 2020. He is also a three-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll: the spring of 2020, the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021. 

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One-Liners

Ezring: Still new to the sport, Christian Jones’s NFL-caliber power and movement skills offer starting upside; that said, his technique is wholly raw.

Grades

Current Player Value/Potential Player Value

Ezring: 6.0 / 8.0