Braxton Jones was a no-name to most Chicago Bears fans when his name was called in the 5th round of the 2022 draft. Only those who studied college football as a hobby or for work had likely heard his name. An offensive lineman from a small school like Southern Utah that went 1-10 tends not to get much hype. GM Ryan Poles and his scouts still liked him, though. They saw a talented athlete with great size and intelligence. With some time and proper coaching, he might develop into a solid player one or two years down the line.
Two months later, Jones was promoted to the starting left tackle spot in OTAs. It was supposed to be an experiment at the time. Coaches wanted to see how he’d respond. Nobody predicted he would take the spot and not let it go. Now he is set to start opening day against San Francisco. It is an unprecedented rise. While Jones himself didn’t expect things to break this quickly, he admitted to Waddle & Silvy on ESPN 1000 that he planned to start before his rookie season was over.
“One of my goals, I even told a couple teams during the combine interviews and stuff was to get my first start under my belt within my rookie season. That was one of my goals. I knew it would take a little bit of time to develop a little bit, but I felt myself succeed and go over some of those bars. And I surprised myself a little bit, honestly, with some of the stuff I’ve done.”
Braxton Jones is the perfect blend of confident and humble.
He has a quiet belief in his abilities as a player. However, he also understands that talent alone won’t help him in the NFL. He has to work harder than he ever has if he wants to hang with guys like Nick Bosa, Danielle Hunter, and Demarcus Lawrence. The role of the left tackle is to guard the blind side of the quarterback, and he’ll have to face the best pass rushers in the league every week. Opponents won’t have any mercy on him. They know he’s a rookie and will get their best guy on him as often as possible.
Either Braxton Jones will meet the challenge, or he’ll crumble. The Bears believe he has what it takes to handle that responsibility. He admitted he didn’t plan to take the weekend off like other teammates. He’s putting in extra time at Halas Hall to prepare for what’s coming. Justin Fields trusts him. The coaches trust him. That will help his confidence once he starts slugging it out with the big boys on Sunday.
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