The Senior Bowl's eyes will be on Christian Jones, who's putting together a strong NFL draft resume
On Friday, the Reese’s Senior Bowl labeled the upcoming faceoffs between Texas right tackle Christian Jones and Houston EDGE Nelson Caesar as their matchup of the week. The battle between Jones and Caesar will be another opportunity for the Texas right tackle to prove he’s pick-worthy to NFL scouts, opportunities that up to this point he’s taken full advantage of.
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As Texas’ right tackle in 2023, Jones has a Pro Football Focus offensive grade of 79.0, a figure that has him 23rd among 596 graded right tackles. That mark is an improvement from his 2022 assessment, which had him grading out at 70.7 across 13 games.
This weekend, he’ll face one of his more challenging tests in Ceasar. A 6-foot-3, 250-pounder, Ceasar has 25 tackles including 7.0 for loss and 4.5 sacks during the 2023 campaign. He’s likely the best player on the Houston defense, and Jones will find himself matched up with No. 9 in red often.
So far this season, Jones has performed well against teams with standout EDGE players. He’s allowed only one quarterback hit and just three total pressures this year, and none of his matchups have sacked either Quinn Ewers or Maalik Murphy. In addition, his best pass blocking performance of the year per PFF came versus Alabama, who boasts future NFL picks in Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell.
A strong performance against Ceasar will only bolster his resume. His counterpart bookend Kelvin Banks delivered standout performance after standout performance last season during a schedule that featured four different first-round EDGE players, but what was true for Banks was nearly as true for Jones. Though not at the same level as Banks in those four contests, Jones still made positive impacts against the likes of Will Anderson, Will McDonald, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah. The only one of those four first-rounders who made life tough for Jones was Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson.
Jones is the final player remaining on Texas’ roster from the 2018 class. Seven of his classmates have played in the NFL, with DeMarvion Overshown and potentially several others set to join that group next year. Jones has made use of ample time for development, with a redshirt year during Texas’ Sugar Bowl campaign and the luxury of an extra season with Kyle Flood thanks to eligibility relief provided as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That development has the attention of the Senior Bowl, an event that has been kind to Texas in the past.
Last year, Overshown and Roschon Johnson utilized their opportunities in Mobile, Ala. to bolster their draft resumes. The 2022 edition saw Josh Thompson workout for NFL scouts. Sam Ehlinger and Ta’Quon Graham solidified their NFL draft status in 2021.
The attention the Senior Bowl is currently giving to Jones indicates there’s NFL interest in No. 70, too. He has several years of game tape against some of the toughest defenders in college football, and has a chance to put more good work on film versus Ceasar this Saturday in TDECU Stadium with Senior Bowl reps on hand to see more of Jones’ game.
More good data, and Jones will likely entrench himself as a selection in the upcoming NFL draft.
