Cardinals earn praise for value of Josh Jones pick in 2020 NFL Draft

Apr 24, 2020, 7:49 PM | Updated: Apr 25, 2020, 11:21 am

Houston offensive lineman Joshua Jones speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

BY ARIZONA SPORTS

The Arizona Cardinals went the best available player route in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft with Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons.

They did not change their strategy with their next pick, No. 72 overall in the third round.

Arizona selected Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones, a player considered by some experts on the first-round bubble and widely thought of as a near-lock to slip no further than the second round.

Alas, he was there in the third, and the Cardinals took advantage.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had Jones going No. 33 overall in his two-round mock draft from April 14.

Pro Football Focus graded Jones as the best offensive tackle in the 2020 draft class — though it should be noted he faced lesser competition playing at Houston. Still, his 93.2 rating was the highest the service has ever graded a group-of-five tackle.

According to PFF, Jones allowed just 18 pressures on 1,282 pass-blocking snaps in the past three seasons for the Cougars.

The pick led to plenty of praise on Twitter from many experts on the value Arizona got in Jones and in the draft as a whole.

Did the Cardinals get a steal? Entering the draft, there was less than a 1% chance that Josh Jones would be available at pick No. 72, according to ESPN's NFL Draft Predictor.

— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) April 25, 2020

Both Kiper & McShay had @AZCardinals third round pick Josh Jones rated in Top 40 player rankings… #NFLDraft https://t.co/SKyYtUqTWr

— Paul Calvisi (@PaulCalvisi) April 25, 2020

Josh Jones' position on various big boards:

The Ringer: 31
PFF/Renner: 14
Kiper: 40
McShay: 38@AZCardinals got him at #72#NFLDraft2020

— Vince Marotta (@Vincemarotta) April 25, 2020

Very nice grab this late by the #Cardinals to get Josh Jones, another team with a quality draft.

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 25, 2020

Cardinals turned the first three rounds of their draft into Isaiah Simmons, Josh Jones, and DeAndre Hopkins.

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) April 25, 2020

The #AZCardinals select Houston OT Josh Jones at No. 72, two rounds later than some imagined. Talent is there, but scouts were all over the map with him.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 25, 2020

Really impressed with this #AZCardinals draft class

8 – Isaiah Simmons
40 – DeAdnre Hopkins
72 – Josh Jones

— Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) April 25, 2020