NFL Draft Profile: Braxton Jones, Offensive Tackle, Southern Utah Thunderbirds
#77
Pos: OT
Ht: 6050
Wt: 310
Hand: 1028
Arm: 3538
Wing: N/A
40: 4.97
Bench: N/A
3-Cone: N/A
Shuttle: 4.84
Vert: N/A
Broad: N/A
DOB: _/_/_
Eligibility: 2022
Murray, UT
Murray High School
Braxton Jones
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
One-Liner:
Excelling in pass protection, Jones offers size and length as a bookend left tackle. His inconsistencies with his hands and overset tendency holds his game back.
Pros:
Braxton Jones has a big, dense frame with fair athleticism that brings the whole package. His density in the lower half allows him to withstand power rushes from the edge. He regains balance well when he is knocked off his set for a brief second. Timing of the snap and first step are both up to standard. As a run blocker, he can seal off gaps fairly well with good stability and strong hands to remove defenders from the running lanes. In pass protection, Jones shows off a strong anchor to take in contact, drop the anchor and lockout to stop the pressure. His length aids him mightily in pass sets. Over his career, he has greatly improved his angles and body position as a run blocker to evolve that part of his game. He spent his 2017 and 2018 snaps playing at right tackle, while permanently moving to left tackle in 2019.
Cons:
Pre-snap, he fails to recognize potential blitzers from the second level which leaves them unblocked and a free path to the quarterback. Jones often oversets to the outside and gives pass rushers an opportunity to attack his inside shoulder. In terms of grip and block maintaining, Jones’ hands are not very strong and physical to consistently hold off pass rushers. He doesn’t move very well and struggles getting to through the second level to then locate and block. Always lines up in a two-point stance and doesn’t show much flexibility or knee bend to suggest he could do anything else. Punch location can be too high at times, giving pass rushers an easy out on those blocks. His lack of lateral movement makes it hard for him to react and mirror to different pass rush moves and counters. His hands come off as somewhat small and soft, which is the reason for his struggles to maintain blocks at times.
Summary:
Braxton Jones is a long-time starter and contributor for the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. He offer size and length as a bookend tackle who excels in pass protection. As a fairly balanced athlete, he can protect the pocket with consistency. His lower half strength and balance propels him to success in that area of his game. Where he suffers, in pass protection, is his habit of oversetting to his left which leaves a wide open gap for pass rushers to attack the B gap. As a run blocker, he has improved throughout his career. His smaller hands and soft blows make it hard for him to completely transcend that part of his game. Jones will need to work on various inconistsencies in his game before he sees prolific gametime in the NFL. Because of his length and pass protection ability, he is worthy of an early day three selection with the intent of development.
Background:
Hometown is Murray, Utah. He attended Murray High School. According to the 247Sports Composite, Jones was rated as a two-star offensive tackle recruit in the 2017 class. He was a top 50 player out of the state of Utah. Southern Utah was his only offer. In high school, he was named the Offensive MVP and All-Region in his final two seasons. He was a dual-sport athlete, also playing basketball. Parents are Danielle Williams, John Jones and Chad White. He majored in Accounting.
Grades
Current Player Value/Potential Player Value
7.2/7.9
Floor/Ceiling: Backup / Below-Average Starter
Scheme Fit: Gap Scheme
Grade: Late 4th Round
Injury History: Thumb injury in 2017.
Character Notes: Raised by his single mother. In interviews, he seems very grateful and very compassionate and being a hard-working, detail-oriented player to earn his keep.
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