LAKE FOREST – Braxton Jones has a lot of fans in the Bears' organization. There's a reason the fifth-round draft pick has seemingly taken hold of the starting left tackle spot and not let go.
Battling veteran edge rusher Robert Quinn in practice has been a critical part of Jones' early NFL education, and the rookie's potential is clear to the 32-year-old Quinn.
"Athleticism," Quinn said Wednesday when asked where he sees Jones' upside. "That's just one by itself. You can't really coach that. So to be able to have that as an ability as young rookie, it only can go up from here. Take his coaching points and use his God-given talents and somehow mix them together, I think there's a lot of upside to that."
Quinn's elite mix of speed and bend should help Jones as he prepares to face star edge rushers Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, Von Miller, and others this season.
In individual drills, Quinn has gotten the better of Jones on most occasions. During Sunday's practice, he whipped by Jones before the rookie even had a chance to slide his feet. But during Wednesday's session, Jones stonewalled Quinn.
It's in these one-on-one battles that Quinn has seen the fifth-round rookie from Southern Utah grow.
"I think just becoming more confident in himself. From what I see, you can see the confidence in himself," Quinn said.
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That Jones has been able to hold his own against Quinn shows the Bears he's ready for all that comes with being an NFL left tackle.
"I think Braxton was a guy that is obviously a super athletic kid that we were excited about after spring ball," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. "Then you get into the pads and there was zero intimidation. Going against Robert Quinn your very first one-on-one pass rush, right? It's an intimidating thing. He stepped up and did a great job. He's answered the bell. He's done a really nice job us."
The Bears signed veteran tackle Riley Reiff at the start of training camp. The belief at the time was that Reiff would be the starting left tackle, allowing Jones more time to get stronger and acclimated to the NFL game.
But it quickly became apparent that the left tackle job was Jones' to lose, and Reiff now appears to have the inside track to be the Bears' first-string right tackle.
Reiff has been impressed by what he has seen from Jones in the short time they have been teammates.
"He's a super talented individual," Reiff said. "He's experiencing some good edge rushers with Robert and those guys. As a rookie, it's hard, man. But it's good to take those lumps now. But he's holding his own. The ceiling is super high with that kid."
The Bears share that same belief.
General manager Ryan Poles has loved the early returns from his top two picks, Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker. If Jones can be a Day 1 starter at left tackle and give the Bears above-league-average play from the jump, Poles' first draft with the Bears will be a massive success.
Jones has held his own against Quinn and the Bears' edge rushers. But we will learn more about where the rookie is at starting Saturday when the Bears' preseason schedule gets underway against the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field.