Robert Jones NFL Draft Overview
Position: Interior Offensive Line
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 307 Lbs.
School: Middle Tennessee State University
Pro Day Performance Data
40-yard dash: 5.32 seconds
Vertical jump: 31”
Broad jump: 8’5”
Robert Jones 2021 NFL Draft Profile
With a big body and good movement skills, Robert Jones is a late-round prospect in this year’s deep line class. Though he played most recently at right tackle at Middle Tennesee, he projects as a guard at the next level. After all, Jones shows good speed on the line and will be ideal for pulling offensive sets. A two-star recruit out of Rockford East High School in Chicago, IL, started his college career at Highland Community College. Then, he transferred to Middle Tennessee as a junior, with good results. Jones appeared in 20 games, making 18 starts. He also pulled off the impressive feat of not allowing a sack during his junior season.
Named as an Honorable Mention on the All-C-USA team, Jones rounded out a solid college career in a pandemic-shortened season. His ability to maintain strong pass blocking sets and keep defenders from his quarterback showed and the awards committee noticed. In fact, they weren’t the only ones tracking Jones’s strong season. Pro Football Focus gave the senior a 75.4 offense grade, which ranked 71st among college tackles. However, his pass-blocking grade of 80.1 was even more impressive, ranking 47th among his positional peers. The league needs more pass blockers and Jones does a good job in that area. While he’ll need to adjust to the pro game, Jones provided more than enough positive tape to land on draft boards.
Strengths
- Good footwork in pass protection;
- Does a nice job executing hand placement;
- Shows solid movement skills on the line;
- Gets to second-level defenders in a hurry;
- Hard to get around once he gets engaged;
- Moves off the snap pretty quickly;
- Engages defenders in hand fights to combat pass rush moves.
Weaknesses
- Top-heavy body size shows up on tape;
- Didn’t do a very job setting the edge;
- Struggles to recover once overtaken;
- The lower level of college competition creates a learning curve;
- Doesn’t always look to finish blocks;
- Initial punch doesn’t do much damage.
NFL Comparison: Greg Van Roten
Teams With Need at Position: Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs
Projection: Seventh Round
Bottom Line on Robert Jones
Entering a deep offensive line class, Robert Jones is slightly overshadowed by his peers. Regardless, when teams see his movement skills, they’ll be able to identify a solid project at offensive guard. It’s also worth noting that Jones has pretty good size in general and could swing to tackle in a pinch. Today, the league has a heavy price on versatility and Jones certainly brings that to the table. Granted, Jones’s pro-day performance could’ve gone better and improved his stock. Instead, he posted a 6.85 relative athletic score after performing poorly in agility drills. If he can prove those agility skills are better shown on the field than in testing, teams will feel a bit better.
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