2020 NFL Draft: Best pick in every round, from Jerry Jeudy to Geno Stone
By Lucas Schuh
Round 3: Josh Jones, Arizona Cardinals (No. 72)
The Arizona Cardinals made one key move this offseason prior to the draft, trading for DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL and now the Cardinals have added him to help out their young quarterback, Kyler Murray.
With the Cardinals upgrading massively at receiver, many draft analysts and Cardinals fans were expecting an offensive tackle to come off the board at No. 8. Instead, the Cardinals selected defensive star, Isaiah Simmons.
Simmons will be a huge help to the Cardinals defense with his elite coverage ability and versatility. But the question remained, who will the Cardinals be able to get at offensive tackle?
Arizona’s next pick after their first-rounder was in the third round after giving up the second-rounder for Hopkins. At No. 72 overall, it was hard to imagine a great offensive tackle prospect would fall to them — but imagine it because that’s what happened.
In that spot, Cardinals selected Josh Jones out of Houston. Arizona should not have been able to get Jones this late in the draft, plain and simple. Jones is a first-round caliber offensive tackle.
Jones has some great hand usage and knows how to use them to keep edge rushers off there timing. He is also comfortable playing on an island and playing in space, which is perfect for the mobile Murray.
This is also a great pick for the Cardinals because of the incredible value of it. If the Cardinals were to draft Jones early on, I still would have been happy with it. But the Cardinals were able to commit highway robbery and draft Jones in the third.
Honorable Mentions: Zack Baun, Saints (No. 74) | Cameron Dantzler, Vikings (No. 89)