Emery Jones Jr., LSU: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Jones was a four-star recruit from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, La. in the class of 2022

LSU right tackle Emery Jones Jr. arguably has the most natural power in his pass set among all linemen in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, he frequently struggled to handle NFL-caliber pass rushers in 2023, and his pad level, occasional balance issues, and arm length suggest a move inside to guard at the next level would be beneficial.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more opinions on prospects, clips, and the latest football content.

Emery Jones Jr., RT LSU: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior right tackle from Baton Rouge, La.

Background: Jones was a four-star recruit from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, La. in the class of 2022. He was the No. 110 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 113 for Rivals, and No. 100 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 159th in the nation with an 83 grade out of 100. Jones won back-to-back LHSAA Division I State Championships in 2020 and 2021 with Catholic. He was a 5A First Team All-State and First Team All-District honoree twice. Jones’ high school teams finished with a combined 44-7 record across four years to accompany two state championships and four total championship game appearances. He was invited to the Under Armour All-American Game. Jones also played basketball in high school.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed 2023 Army game with injury, missed time during 2023 Auburn game with injury

Awards: 2022 SEC All-Freshman Team, 2022 True Freshman All-American (ESPN), 2023 Second Team All-SEC

Pros: Cut down on penalties in 2023, spent half a game at right guard in 2023, good natural power and sturdiness throughout frame, aggressive mentality and enjoys jawing at d-linemen, looks for extra work, delivers rib shots to unsuspecting interior linemen, smooth and repeatable kick slide, gains good depth with kick step, patient in pass set and lets defender come to him, usually on point with his stunt recognition, stiff initial punch to halt rushers in their tracks, impressive grip strength, flashes of a developing snatch trap vs. long-arms, handled spin moves by Shemar Turner and Fadil Diggs (2023), defenders struggle to play through his frame, sturdy base, frame and base easily absorb power rushes, re-anchors quickly, too strong for Dallas Turner (2023), nightmare matchup for Justin Eboigbe (2023), matched and slowly wore down Chris Braswell’s power rushes (2023), upper body flexibility shows up when anchoring in contorted positions, wipes out defenders on down blocks, comfortable climbing to pick off second level targets, good enough mobility and balance to lead block some

Cons: Penalized six times in 2022, arm length advantage in favor of the defense pops up, sits high in his stance pre-snap, lack of high-end explosiveness limits range in pass pro, feet slow or halt on contact, stops feet when throwing his initial punch, stalled feet make it hard to cut off B-gap counters, extends chest way over knees to initiate contact in pass pro, needs more independent hand usage, upward hand scoop motion fails often, outside hand gets pinned or swiped too often – opening rush lane up the arc, Joe Moore beat him around the arc several times (2023), cross-chops capitalize on his balance and outside hand usage concerns, processing for long-arm counters needs to speed up, no clear solution for Darius Robinson’s long-arm move (2023), arms too short to challenge Chris Braswell’s long-arm (2023), pulled forward and off balance a few times by Darius Robinson (2023), comes off the line with a high pad level in the run game, generates limited one-on-one displacement in the run game because he loses the leverage battle, stonewalled at the LOS in the run game, random missed assignments in the run game leading to TFLs might be because of poor vision, lacks open field speed to catch linebackers consistently

Overview: Jones was penalized six times in 2022 but only drew yellow flags three times in 2023. He is an aggressive lineman who enjoys getting into it with defenders and always looks for extra work. Jones has a smooth and repeatable kick slide and gains good depth with his initial kick step. He patiently sits in his pass set and waits for the defender to come to him. The junior has some of the best natural power among offensive linemen in the 2025 class. He launches stiff punches to halt rushers in their tracks and has impressive grip strength. He’s also developing a snatch trap to use against long-arm moves. Defenders struggle to bull rush Jones or play through his frame because of his stout base and thick build that easily absorbs power. He quickly re-anchors against speed to power, making life difficult for respected prospects like Chris Braswell and Dallas Turner (2023). Turner, in particular, had a rough outing against Jones. One of the most unique elements of Jones’ game is how he anchors. He has the flexibility to contort his body and anchor from some ridiculous positions. However, he’s far from invincible in pass protection. The Louisiana native’s arm length isn’t ideal and creates an advantage for defenders. He plays with a very high stance and lacks the explosive footwork to handle all wide-alignment rushers. Jones frequently slows or stops his feet on contact or when he goes to throw his initial punch. He’s also guilty of extending his chest far over his knees while trying to initiate contact. This makes it impossible for him to recover when beaten or redirect for B-gap counters. In 2023, Darius Robinson earned a sack against Jones on a play where the right tackle stopped his feet when extending his arms to punch, which allowed Robinson to rip through the B-gap. Jones needs to incorporate more independent hand usage into his pass sets. His outside hand gets pinned far too often. This resulted in multiple wins for Chris Braswell’s cross-chop (2023) and resulted in Missouri’s Joe Moore (2023) winning up and around the arc several times. Jones’ balance concerns and weak outside hand usage make him extremely vulnerable to cross-chops. The former four-star recruit is working on a counter for long-arm moves, but he hasn’t implemented it consistently yet. He really struggled against Darius Robinson’s long-arm and lacked the arm length to reach Chris Braswell’s frame and disrupt his long-arm. Jones was also pulled forward and off balance a few times by Darius Robinson. The losses against top 60 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft are understandable but still raise concerns. Jayden Daniels’ poor pocket presence made life more difficult for his tackles, but Jones still suffered plenty of preventable losses. In the run game, he erases defenders on down blocks and is comfortable climbing to the second level. The All-SEC selection has enough mobility for some lead block assignments. Unfortunately, he releases from the line with a high pad level, which causes him to lose the leverage battle and struggle to generate displacement with one-on-one blocks. He is frequently stonewalled at the line of scrimmage. Jones also misses his fair share of assignments in the run game, which hints and a lack of strong post-snap vision.

Overall, Jones is one of the most powerful and stout offensive linemen in the 2025 class and arguably has the best anchor out of the projected top 100 picks. His lack of advanced arm length and frequent losses to NFL-caliber edge rushers suggest a move inside to guard could raise his long-term ceiling. Jones must improve his balance, pad level, and hand usage to warrant top 50 consideration.

Role & Scheme Fit: Right tackle or right guard in an inside zone scheme

Round Grade: Third Round

Size: 6'6", 322 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 05-18-24