Post by aris on Oct 27, 2021 6:45:39 GMT -7
But wasn't knee-deep pretty strong coming out of college, especially given he was an underclassmen? That was the whole reason we took him. My two cents:
I think Jones was a solid pick, based on the system KK thought he was going to run at the time. I think Keim thought the same. I'd love to know if Kugler thought that, because my gut says he didn't. I also think that's why Jones slid and we didn't use higher pick on him. Jones was definitely worth the pick, based on how KK thought he'd fit our system. A system which at the time was more focused on more passing and finesse runs. Then something changed the calculus.
Kugler got in KK's ear and highlighted that we needed more of a power running game. Lo and behold, KK adjusted, and our offense started to take off. We now power run (albeit out of shotgun) and do lots of play action, and Jones did not have the strength to flourish in that system. Part of me thinks that's why he got moved to guard. He's got the skills to be a finesse tackle, but he's not strong enough to be a power run tackle. So you move him inside versus admitting it was a wasted pick. If he has the work ethic, and puts on strength, he could flourish. But it remains to be seen how long that will take. In the meantime, he's a liability at guard that's going to get Kyler hit.
Conclusion. Picking Jones wasn't a mistake. If anything, management is doing the best to salvage a bad situation, and trying to adapt for an offense that's improved since Kugler's advice was taken. The only real mistake was thinking running the ball didn't matter. Had our coach known that from the start, several picks wouldn't have been wasted, and Kyler wouldn't be hurting as much as he is, from the hits he's taken.
Had KK known that, we never take 3 WRs in one year or Jones. We'd probably have another DL/CB to boot, or maybe a TE