Our countdown of the 25 most important Chicago Bears players continues as we hit number 8, left tackle Braxton Jones.
the Chicago Bears are just 11 days from the start of training camp. We continue our countdown of the 25 most important players for 2024 ahead of that start. We are now in the thick of things. The countdown is at number eight now, and left tackle Braxton Jones handles that spot.
Braxton Jones burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2022. He was the Chicago Bears’ fifth-round pick, just trying to make the team. However, he performed very well during OTAs and minicamp. He did so well that he went from trying to make the team to the starting left tackle. He supplanted Teven Jenkins from that spot.
Jones is a big at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds. He also has long arms at 35-and-3/8 inches. Additionally, he is athletic. He has great footwork and explodes off the snap. He showcased those skills as a rookie and ended up playing every snap in his rookie season. In his second season, Jones suffered through injuries. He missed six games. When he was healthy, however, he still did a good job protecting the quarterback’s blind side.
© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The one thing Jones has had trouble with is handling the bull rush. Pass rushers have been able to bully him. He has worked on it and has gotten stronger but it is still a question mark for him. Moreover, he is very smart and has a high football IQ. He made moves that you would not expect from a young player. He picks up stunts and adjusts quickly.
Jones has an incredibly important job. He protects the quarterback’s blind side. That is extremely crucial this season as the Chicago Bears have invested a lot in rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. If Jones cannot help keep him clean, all the hopes of a great season will go down the drain.
The new-look offense was created by General Manager Ryan Poles to help put Williams in a successful situation. Williams needs to know that Jones has his back protected. If Jones cannot get that done, Williams will have a difficult time running the offense.
© Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
With that in mind, the Chicago Bears brought in some competition for Jones. Poles selected let tackle Kiran Amegadjie in the third round of this year’s draft. Amegadjie is similar to Jones in many ways. He is even bigger at 6-foot-5, 323 pounds. Additionally, he has even longer arms at 36-and-1/8 inches.
Amegadjie will push Jones. Poles figures that competition breeds better play. Both players will show their best abilities to try to win that coveted job. However, the job is Jones’ for him to lose. He does not want Amegadjie to do to him what he did to Jenkins.
© Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
The injury that really put Jones behind the eight-ball was his neck injury in Week 2. He worked hard to overcome it but when you are a fifth-round pick, unless you play lights out people will still be looking to replace you. He understands that and is working hard this offseason to come back stronger.
At the end of the day, you got to perform. I’m out there healthy, so I just got to perform better. Other than that, the injury kind of sets you back…It’s hard. I did the best I could. I worked at it. Tried to get better week in and week out. That’s still what I’m trying to do. The penalty and the holding calls have been cleaned up. But other than that, technically it just needs to get better.
It will be interesting to see how Jones performs during training camp. He was already a pretty good tackle before this offseason. However, the Chicago Bears need more than just a pretty good tackle. This is an important season so Braxton Jones needs to be at his best.
Previous rankings: #25: Tory Taylor #24: Velus Jones #23: Jack Sanborn #22: Gerald Everett #21: Kyler Gordon #20: Cairo Santos #19: Kevin Byard #18: Nate Davis #17: Jaquan Brisker #16: Austin Booker #15:Tyrique Stevenson #14: Darnell Wright #13: Khalil Herbert #12: Tremaine Edmunds #11: ColeKmet #10: Gervon Dexter #9: ROme Odunze
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