Will Braxton Jones Tackle History?
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Considering it's been 30 years since the Bears last started a rookie on opening day at left tackle, it's a big deal.
Fifth-round draft pick Braxton Jones is still playing the position with starters a week into training camp, even after the Bears signed longtime NFC North left tackle Riley Reiff.
Jones must be considered the surprise of training camp, even if he did practice at this position with starters for half the offseason.
"Yeah, he's just, you know, absorbed all the information in executing," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "He's done that and he's showing that it's not too big for him.
"When you come in as a rookie sometimes the spots are big, and not to say that he's been perfect because he's a rookie and he's had his moments, but he's doing a good job. We like where he is, we like where he's progressing and he's got a long way to go but we like where he's at."
For Jones to duplicate a feat last achieved by Troy Auzenne in 1992 during Mike Ditka's final year and start the opener, it's going to take improvement. He knows it.
"Yeah I would say a big thing for me is trying to anchor on this bull rush," Jones said. "I've been working on a couple things over and over again, especially in the pass game. I've gotta throw my tight hands over and over again and just playing fast. That's the biggest thing, and just getting better every day. That's my goal.
"This obviously isn't easy, but if you can get 1% better every day, that's like the biggest thing for me every day. If I see something that I did wrong yesterday and I did it right today, that's big for me. And I think another thing, too, is really focusing on those tight hands. I've gotta get better at that. Once I get that down, and nobody's seen me do it consistently, but once I get that done consistently, I think it will be a big jump."
Not jumping the gun on a snap count would help, too. He's been as guilty of this as anyone as the Bears try to adjust to an offense with numerous snap counts.
"I would say for me, I'm kinda trying to clue in to the cadence as much as I can, and some of them come from just trying to jump it and being as quick as possible off the ball, and some of them are just mishaps that just gotta clean up," he said. "They can't be a thing anymore, especially for the young guys.
"We know the cadence. We've gone over the cadence, especially for me. Any cadence issues I'm having is I'm trying to get better with the cadence and just clue in a little bit better with doing my job, trying to play fast and everything at the same time. I just say partially of trying to clue in to it and jumping it a little bit as well."
Jones surprised with those first-team snaps during OTAs and minicamp after Teven Jenkins had been doing it at left tackle. Then the Bears traded for Reiff. Before the Thursday day off, Jones had practiced at left tackle even with Reiff playing. They moved Reiff to right tackle, a position he hasn't played regularly since 2016 in Detroit.
Jones wasn't sure where those plays would take him when minicamp ended, so he just kept on training and preparing before camp.
"I was back in Utah training with a trainer I did a little bit for some of the combine prep and stuff like that," Jones said. "I was just back in Utah and it was good for me to get away a little bit, just to get away and see the game and the playbook sense."
He felt being away and looking at the playbook brought it all into perspective.
"I'd say I took a big step in that sense and it allowed me in the beginning of camp to play a lot quicker and be on it a lot quicker," he said. "I would say one of those things was a big step. I felt like I came back in better shape. I think I needed to get back into a little better shape in terms of when these pads were on today and stuff like that."
When he returned, he found they had signed Reiff, the former Bengals, Vikings and Lions tackle.
"Yeah, it does two things for me," Jones said. "It just is another way to compete. I think that’s the biggest thing.
"And then learning from a vet. Just kind of like how I answered (a reporter's) question, he sees things a lot differently. He has experience. He has been in the league for a long time. So no matter what, honestly, we’re competing for a job and it enables me to have a little more experience by asking him the questions and having him be like, 'you did this wrong' or 'you did that right.' At the end of the day, we're still competing. Its two great things and I just thought of it as an opportunity."
It's an opportunity for a little Bears history and something big at the start of a pro career.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
