Despite Draft Drop, Josh Jones Lands In Good Spot

Big Red

Well-known member
Mar 16, 2019
1,355
0
jqmojtafkkywxqmkmpbd


The Cardinals rated Jones highly on their draft board, but because they traded away their second-round pick for wideout DeAndre Hopkins, the chances of drafting him seemed slim.


As Jones continued to drop on Friday, Kingsbury was so perplexed that he called Holgorsen, a longtime friend who got him into coaching, to see if there was anything he missed.


"We're calling saying, 'What's going on, did he kill somebody last night?" Kingsbury told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. "'Is there something we don't know about? What's the issue?' They were kind of scratching their heads as well."


Jones is seen as a developmental prospect, and maybe other teams weren't prepared to take on that risk. However, Jones won't have to transition away from a spread offense under Kingsbury, and there should be ample time to sit and learn with veteran tackles D.J. Humphries and Marcus Gilbert projected to start in 2020, and Justin Murray a capable backup.


While Jones must now work with his fifth offensive line coach in as many years, there aren't many better than the Cardinals' Sean Kugler. Jones said the lack of coaching cohesion may have stunted his growth "a little bit" in college, but he also appreciated the various advice.


"I think me having four line coaches, I was able to take certain things that they taught me and fuse it into my game," Jones said. "I feel like that's kind of what made my game whole today."


Jones only allowed two pressures and one sack in nine games as a senior, per Pro Football Focus, as he settled in nicely under Brandon Jones. Kingsbury said that couldn't have been easy, because technique and fundamentals are taught differently from one coach to another.


"It appeared as if he had a consistent plan each and every snap this year," Kingsbury said. "He was locked in. There was no lack of focus, and it paid off. There was nobody that was getting around him the entire season, so you definitely saw big strides there on the technical side of things."


Jones has some challenges ahead. He must adjust to the speed of the NFL and learn to play right tackle. However, if he can use this stability to his advantage, the draft day uncertainty will one day become a distant memory.


"I'm just happy to get back into the same system I ran last year, where I had so much success, so I'm able to get out there and perform really well," Jones said.

Continue reading...
 
Top