The Arizona Cardinals were thrilled to land tackle Josh Jones in the third round of the NFL draft last week. He was ranked in the top 30 of their draft board, general manager Steve Keim said after the pick was made.
Jones noticed and plans on proving the rest of the league wrong.
“I think I’m one of the best players in this draft,” he said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Thursday. “I’m definitely going to use it as motivation to make sure that 31 teams missed out on a good player.”
He has a passion for football and wants to play well. “I love this game and want to be one of the greatest,” he said.
After he was drafted, he said he was planning on coming in and being able to play immediately. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury suggested it might be good for him to learn behind right tackles Marcus Gilbert and Justin Murray.
Jones wants to start and will prepare for it but he won’t consider the season a failure if he doesn’t start.
“First, I just want to come in and earn the trust of the team,” he said about his goals. “Second, I just want to be able to go out there and show I can perform at a high level right away. Whatever that may be, if they see me going in behind D.J. (Humphries) and working and learning that side, or going in and starting at right (tackle). It’s whatever the team needs at the time but I feel I’m well enough to perform early.”
He understands the adjustment to the NFL will be tough. But he is ready to compete.
“I’ll sit back and learn as much as I can as quick as I can,” he said. “If they need me to sit down a year and learn the system a little more, it’s whatever the team needs. But right now, I ‘m preparing to play early. I’m going to go out there and work like a starter.”
[vertical-gallery id=436918]
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 266
[protected-iframe id=”bcb747d5fc8df3747b9f1187680b5056-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/26365268/download.mp3″ ]
Ep.265
[protected-iframe id=”57edcd330524442e03e03f0332fc6342-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/25900350/download.mp3″ ]