The Arizona Cardinals have not historically done a great job of developing young offensive linemen. Aside from D.J. Humphries, they have pretty much moved on after one or two seasons of young linemen they have drafted.
They hope that trend can change with Josh Jones, selected in the third round in 2020.
He played little as a rookie. He learned a new position in 2021.
He was a four-year starter at left tackle in college and was projected to be a right tackle for the Cardinals when he was drafted.
He added guard to his resume this past season. He started both at right tackle and at right guard. He did some nice things and also struggled, especially with penalties.
He was eventually replaced by Max Garcia in the starting lineup.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury wasn’t unhappy with how he progressed. He believes that Jones’ experience at guard is valuable.
“I thought Josh progressed, played a lot more at guard than he had throughout his career there in college, so he was getting familiar with that, which is good to have some swing capabilities and be able to play guard and tackle,” Kingsbury said after the season.
But the Cardinals need more. Kingsbury expects Jones to have a prominent role next season.
“We’ve just got to keep him on the right track,” he said. “He’s made strides the first two years and we need him next year to really step up.”
It will be interesting to see what they want from Jones. Both D.J. Humphries and Kelvin Beachum are under contract for 2022. They do not have a starting right guard under contract for next season.
Do they expect him to be the starter? Is he expected to start at guard and play at a high level for another season until right tackle opens up? Or do they see him taking over right tackle?
Either way, it is clear that the Cardinals are counting on Jones in 2022. Can he do in Year 3 what linebacker Isaiah Simmons did in Year 2 and improve a lot?
If he does, the line will be much better than late in the season in 2021.
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