What Steve Sarkisian had to say about Christian Jones going to the Arizona Cardinals
After the Arizona Cardinals made Christian Jones the No. 162 overall pick on Saturday as part of day three of the NFL Draft, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian released a comment praising the first Texas O-linemen taken in the draft since Sam Cosmi in 2021.
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“Arizona got a great player and person, and a guy with a very bright future in the NFL,” said Sarkisian in a statement. “Christian is a guy who I watched develop as much as anybody in his three years with us. He’s a three-year starter who began playing left tackle before moving to the right side where he really blossomed in year two and three. He’s a guy (Kyle) Flood poured a lot into, and we really saw his development grow exponentially in his time here. He and the team reaped the benefits of that.
“Christian was a guy we could really trust, he was great in the locker room, did things the right way and because of that, we saw his game evolve. His fundamentals improved, his understanding of the scheme really grew, he became a very good pass protector for us, but also showed versatility in the run game. I do think he has position flexibility at the next level as a guy who can definitely play either tackle spot, and I would say could even play guard if needed because he’s got the measurables that are unique to that position.
“Because of the fact that he hasn’t play a ton of football relative to most guys, I think his best days are ahead of him. His development is not complete, he can continue to grow as a player and inevitably be a really productive player at the professional level. The Cardinals are lucky to have him, as a player, teammate and awesome representative of their franchise in every way.”
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Jones was ranked as the No. 740 overall prospect, the No. 55 offensive tackle, and the No. 101 player in Texas in the 2018 On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
