OT, Ohio State
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 375 lbs
Class: Senior
Jones was a two-sport athlete coming out of high school, earning Division I offers for both football and basketball. As a three-star offensive tackle recruit, he landed 21 football scholarship offers, committing to Ohio State over the likes of Penn State and USC.
He played a limited role through his first two seasons, playing 170 snaps through seven games. Jones then became the Buckeyes’ starter at right tackle as a junior, earning Second Team All-Big Ten honours. He started all 12 games of the 2022 season and finished his collegiate career as a First Team All-American.
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Strengths
The most obvious strength to Jones is his size. In a sport played by physical and imposing athletes, he still manages to stand out. At 6’8″ he ranks in the 95th percentile amongst offensive tackles and would be the ninth tallest player at the position over the last 20 years. His 375 lbs also puts him in the 99th percentile at the position and his 89.5″ wingspan is the largest ever recorded by an NFL prospect. Unsurprisingly he manages to pair this size with some legitimately impressive play strength.
Jones is excellent at displacing defenders in the running game and there were very few players who could stand their ground against him in one-on-one situations. His ability to consistently generate movement on drive blocks makes him ideally suited for gap scheme concepts, where he is able to create wide open running lanes. His strength also helps in pass protection, where he has a stout anchor. Jones’ ability to quickly sink and absorb power makes him almost invulnerable to bull rushes.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Jones also plays the game with a real nasty streak. As you would expect for such a big blocker he nearly always has the power advantage and he knows it. He loves to finish his blocks and will consistently play to the whistle. He showcases an impressive snatch-and-trap move as a pass protector to get defenders on the floor. Jones also shows good effort when uncovered and will always look for work.
Whilst Jones’ makes his money with his size and power, he is also a surprisingly good athlete for his size. He showcases good quickness out of his stance which helped him to have plenty of success in pass protection. Jones allowed just five hurries on 419 pass blocking snaps in 2022. He is also solid enough to be asked to climb to the second level as a seal blocker or get out in front on screens.
Weaknesses
Whilst Jones moves well for his size, he does have some limitations as an athlete. There is some noticeable tightness to his lower half which presented issues when asked to take vertical pass sets against quicker edge rushers from wider alignments. It also limits his ability to redirect laterally. Jones has a habit of over-setting to speed and is vulnerable to twitchier edge rushers who can counter inside.
It won’t come as a surprise for a 6’8″ tackle, but Jones also has issues with his pad level. This caused problems in pass protection, where he would allow better leveraged defenders to get inside his frame. He also struggles to stay low off the snap as a run blocker. He will often rely on two handed punches and lean into his blocks, getting off balance as a result.
Bottom Line
Jones is a behemoth at offensive tackle with truly rare size and power. He is somewhat scheme limited as a prospect, but he has the physicality and athleticism to be a good tackle at the NFL level.
Ideal role: Tackle in a run-heavy, gap scheme offense
Round projection: 2nd round
