Former Texas offensive tackle Christian Jones found his new NFL home after being selected in the fifth round by the Arizona Cardinals with the 162nd overall pick.
Now that he’s officially been selected, we can look at Trotter’s upcoming payday. As the 162nd selection, he’s due a $301,000 signing bonus to kickstart a deal worth $4.32 million, which pays out an average annual value of $1.08 million over the four years, according to Spotrac.
Both tackle positions have been played by Jones but he spent the last two seasons working on the right side, blocking for Quinn Ewers. He was in Austin for six seasons, taking advantage of the COVID-19 eligibility rules. Getting an extra year under his belt paid off for Jones as he’s now been drafted.
In those six years, Jones played in 61 games and started in 48 of them. His stock went up during the 2023 season, impressing Senior Bowl EVP Matt Nagy, specifically with his feet due to having a soccer background in high school.
“He’s got really nice feet,” Nagy said in November via Andy Staples On3. “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.”
Jones played high school football at Cypress (TX) Cy Woods, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 740 overall recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Christian Jones
Lance Zierlein of the NFL Network gave his analysis of Jones, mentioning his size as a positive. Jones weighed in at 6-5, 305 pounds at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis with a wingspan of 34.5 inches.
Zierlein does believe Jones will struggle to deal with athletic players coming off the edge, relying on size too often during his days with the Longhorns.
“Right tackle prospect with athletic limitations that are sometimes covered up by his strength and length,” Zierlein said. “Jones has good lean mass and a proportional frame. While the body composition is a plus, a lack of flexibility and agility works against him.
“He can maul and brawl what is in front of him, but meeting movement with body control and foot quickness is much tougher for him. He’s a consistent waist-bender, which will make him a target for some edge defenders, but his physical attributes give him a chance to stick around.”
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