Jim Nagy reveals where Texas OT Christian Jones could go in NFL Draft
When the 2022 season wrapped up, Christian Jones had been at Texas for five seasons. He could have left and tested the waters as an NFL prospect after spending the season at right tackle. Instead, Jones came back to Austin and had another year of development under OL coach Kyle Flood.
The move has paid off, with Jones’ NFL Draft stock soaring throughout the 2023 season. Senior Bowl EVP Jim Nagy says one thing stands out when talking about Jones — his size. Listed at 6-6, 321 pounds on the official Texas roster, that’s bigger than usual, even in today’s age where plenty of tackles have size.
“This guy is a mountain of a man now,” Nagy said during Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “All of these offensive linemen are big guys but when you get up on Christian Jones, he’s even bigger than most.”
Jones was the starting left tackle during the 2021 season, the first under Steve Sarkisian. But when Kelvin Banks joined the program in the fall of ’22, he was the instant starter there as a true freshman. If Jones was going to get on the field, he was going to play from the right side.
He has developed nicely and become a key part of the Texas offensive line this year. While Day 2 is where Jones could be drafted, Nagy views him as a potential starter down the road.
“He’s got really nice feet,” Nagy said. “He’s played his way in this year. I think to start the season, most teams had him as a late-round guy. Probably a sixth or seventh-round pick. That’s where we had him. And he’s had a really nice year. He’s made a nice jump.
“Now, I think he’s safely positioned himself in that fourth-round area as a guy that teams could see as a starting right tackle in the league or even a swing tackle.”
Football was not even the first sport Jones played. Soccer was his first love and he attempted to play striker in high school. It’s where the “nice feet” Nagy describes comes from when watching tape.
However, when you have the type of size Jones does and live in Texas, you are quickly recruited to play football. Offensive line was not even where Jones began his football journey, though. Defensive line was where he wanted to play but the coaches at Cypress (TX) Cy Woods High School helped him make the transition.
With some additional help from two coaching staffs on the 40 Acres, Jones is thankful for all the help just a few months away from hearing his name called in the NFL Draft.
“It was definitely very, very difficult at first, understanding the footwork and all the technique and all that,” Jones told Staples before the Oklahoma game. “[The coaches], they all took their time with me and got better throughout the time. I just remember being challenged by them every single day. Thank y’all. Thank y’all for that.”