FAB 3. Jones Is High On Bucs’ Radar

Bruce Arians and Buccaneers coaching staff stayed in Tampa rather than attend the Senior Bowl because the video footage is sent to each NFL team literally minutes after each practice. 

Well, most of the coaches stayed in Tampa.

Bucs running game coordinator Harold Goodwin and offensive line coach Joe Gilbert joined general manager Jason Licht, director of player personnel John Spytek, and director of college scouting Mike Biehl and the rest of the team’s scouts in Mobile, Ala.

Hmm, I wonder why?

Houston OT Josh Jones – Photo by: PewterReport.com

Tampa Bay’s biggest offseason need – outside of figuring out what to do at quarterback – is addressing the right tackle spot. Demar Dotson, the 11-year starter, will be 35 this year, in addition to being an unrestricted free agent. I think he might return on a one-year deal to compete for the right tackle job if the terms are right.

Yet Dotson’s possible return is not going to stop the Bucs from drafting a right tackle to battle for the starting job on opening day.

And there was only one first-round caliber offensive tackle at the Senior Bowl – Houston’s Josh Jones, who met with the Buccaneers during the week. That’s one of the reasons why Jones appeared in the first round of the latest PewterReport.com 2020 Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft.

Some draft-centric media members had Jones as a second-round prospect. Heck, I even had Jones in the second round going to Tampa Bay in our first Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft.

But at the East-West Shrine Game I spoke to several NFL sources that told me that some teams had a first-round grade prior to the Senior Bowl. Is Tampa Bay one of those teams?

If Jones didn’t have a first-round grade before the Senior Bowl, he does now.

Last year it was Alabama State offensive tackle Tytus Howard who got the Senior Bowl bump, going from a solid Day 2 small school prospect to a sudden first-rounder. Jones was selected as the North Squad Offensive Lineman of the Week in Mobile.

Houston OT Josh Jones – Photo by: Univ. of Houston

“I’m definitely a first-rounder,” Jones told me at the Senior Bowl. “This game can really help my stock. It can show the coaches and scouts that I’m nice in the run game and amazing in the pass game and that I’m a competitor. I’m going to battle. I’m tough and I’ll fight.”

Check out some of Jones’ clips from Senior Bowl week.

Josh Jones, OT, Houston: Hes just crazy talented in pass pro. Feet, balance, quickness, pop in his hands, length. His technique isn’t always perfect and he still finds ways to get wins. Finishes too. Footwork needs to improve in run game. I think he goes Round 1

— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) January 26, 2020

Hello Josh Jones. pic.twitter.com/rY6JGd40Bw

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 23, 2020

Josh Jones putting in work against a top edge defender in Bradlee Anae pic.twitter.com/XGtygIJEyD

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) January 22, 2020

Josh Jones: Senior Bowl standout pic.twitter.com/TnMI86LWWC

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) January 24, 2020

@UHCougarFB OT Josh Jones stands up Cuse EDGE Alton Robinson. pic.twitter.com/HobP5TeBuk

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) January 22, 2020

During Jones’ senior season he really improved as a run blocker.

“I feel like I always want to set my game up first, get the run game going, mauling dudes down,” Jones said. “And then showing how versatile I can be in my pass sets, locking down the edge.”

Check out some of Jones’ run-blocking clips from his senior year.

Man, Houston LT Josh Jones is a people mover. Heck of a reach here on the 3T as he drives him into the ground. pic.twitter.com/zdPqO3wMKe

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) January 15, 2020

Houston OT Josh Jones tells this Wazzu DT to take a hike and drives him into the ground.

Absolute mauler. pic.twitter.com/UeJ8SfLw8H

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) January 14, 2020

Watching Houston LT Josh Jones and it’s no wonder he’s having such a dominant week at the Senior Bowl. He’s got the film to back it up. pic.twitter.com/Or09NiMyvP

— Robbie Duncan (@RobbieDuncanOL) January 23, 2020

The 6-foot-5, 311-pound Jones has the size, strength and wingspan to excel in the NFL, but it’s his athletic ability that has him as a potential first-rounder.

“My athleticism,” Jones said. “I feel like I can move with the best of them. I’m strong. I can punch anybody coming off the edge. My experience as a four-year starter – a lot of sets, a lot of time put in on it.

“I played basketball. I was a hooper. I didn’t start playing football until my sophomore year of high school, so I was a late bloomer. [Basketball] gave me a good base as far as my footwork and movement. I feel like football took me a long way.”

I asked Jones if he would be willing to move to right tackle if a team like Tampa Bay – that needs a right tackle – wanted him to.

“Any team that needs me to play right tackle, I’ll be happy to switch over,” Jones said. “I haven’t had many significant snaps at it, but I know if I work at it I can get it down and be able to lock down that side too.”

“The team that drafts me is going to get an amazing run blocker and is going to get an even better pass protector. I’m a competitor. I compete in everything I do because I want to win at it. That’s my nature and that’s what any team that drafts me is going to get.”

Houston OT Josh Jones – Photo courtesy of Univ. of Houston

I certainly don’t think Jones is at the top of the Bucs’ draft board. In the middle of the first round, the Bucs would likely take Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs or Louisville’s Mekhi Becton instead at No. 14.

But offensive tackles are like quarterbacks and tend to rise in the first round. There is a good chance that Thomas, Wills, Wirfs and Becton could be gone by the time Tampa Bay is on the clock.

And that’s where Jones could come in.