With the Arizona Cardinals RT Marcus Gilbert opting out of the 2020 season, that means his position is anyone’s to take for the upcoming year. The perfect player to not only win the starting job but help the Cardinals offense flourish is Houston native Josh Jones, whom the Cardinals drafted in the third round this year.
For the past few years, the Senior Bowl has been a game where draft prospects like Josh Jones have made a name for themselves and soared up the draft boards. Going up against the most elite talent in the country, Jones had coaches and scouts on the edge of their seats and his draft stock skyrocketed. Several analysts had him as a first-round talent after his Senior Bowl performance. The Cardinals were very fortunate to get Josh Jones in the third round, as many experts did not think he would fall past the first two. He may have been the most underrated offensive tackle in this draft.
Jones plays with a lot of hustle and competitive toughness. He seeds in pass protection. The Cardinals’ offensive line showed quite a bit of improvement in their pass protection. With the addition of Josh Jones, the 6-foot-5 and 319-pound force, the Cardinals will have a big bolster in their pass protection for Kyler Murray, especially with a new weapon in DeAndre Hopkins. In his final year at Houston, Josh Jones allowed just one sack in the 13 games he started at left tackle, giving him a jaw-dropping 93.4 pass protection grade, according to PFF. Jones’ athleticism is extremely impressive for how big he is, and with his traits, he could potentially have a very high ceiling.
Jones needs a bit of grooming in the run game, as there are times where he blocks too high and lets his technique get in the way of him. However, with his size and athleticism, he should have no problem developing that trait. There are times where he will start too high and will lose leverage at finishing. However, Jones has had sparks in his run blocking where he does a nice job getting low and finishing. If he can develop his bull rush, Jones will be a force to be reckoned with on the Cardinals’ offensive line.
Without Marcus Gilbert for the 2020 season, that gives Josh Jones the perfect opportunity to win the starting job and solidify himself as their franchise tackle for years to come.
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