The Arizona Cardinals used their second fifth-round pick to select tackle Christian Jones out of Texas.
Jones started 48 games for Texas at tackle over his final four seasons, logging 35 starts at right tackles and 13 at left tackle.
He has good size at 6-foot-5 and weighs 305 pounds. He has long 34 1/2-inch arms. And his 5.04-second 40 time was great.
However, he has some athletic red flags. While he is among the best in straught-line speed among tackles (in the 88th percentile), he is below average in his lateral movement (4.78-second short shuttle, which puts him in the 44th percentile) and change of direction (8.09-second three-cone, in the 18th percentile).
The eight-second three-cone is something to watch. It is often a failure trait. Years ago, when the Cardinals drafted guard Dorian Johnson in the fourth round and he was lauded as a plug-and-play starter, he had a three-cone of 8.39 seconds and didn’t make it out of training camp and was not brought back to the practice squad.
So it is something to watch.
Jones was a late starter to football, playing only two years in high school after years of soccer, so he has some room to grow and improve, but he will turn 24 in May after six years in college.
He will have a tough road to make the roster. There are traits to like and he is a perfect backup swing tackle if the athletic red flag isn’t an issue.
The eight-second three-cone and below-average short shuttle, combined with his age, makes him a questionable pick, even late in the fifth round.
The Cardinals get a C for that pick.
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