The Washington Commanders selected Louisiana LB Andre Jones in the seventh round of the NFL Draft – and as we have all throughout the DC airwaves in the last week, we got to hear from his collegiate position coach, Mike Giuliani, who joined fellow Cajuns alum Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay on Friday to talk about the Commanders’ newest linebacker.
Before they did, however, producer Jeff Walker apparently asked Coach Giuliani for a tryout at slot receiver – which would be tough for Jeff, who BMitch described as “about 6-foot and 290 pounds with a lot of lowlights.”
“I told him to send me some highlights, but I don’t think he has any, so that’ll be tough,” Giuliani joked. “Can he set an edge?”
Jeff Walker’s future and a lot of love for BMitch aside, Giuliani, who has spent four seasons as a linebackers coach in Lafayette, gave a breakdown of how the Cajuns turned a down lineman in Jones into a fierce edge rusher.
“Super excited for him man. Andre is an elite human being who comes from a great family and has great values. He’s as long as can be and versatile – he was a d-lineman for the first part of his career, but our linemen are asked to do a lot, and then we truly moved him to that overhang outside linebacker as a senior and he was able to do that easily,” the coach said.
How Jones so easily made the transition, Giuliani said, was based off his natural abilities.
“He’s just got athleticism in space, and he made that transition, having the awareness a linebacker has to have,” Giuliani said. “Andre consumed himself with it and ate it up. We play against a lot of strong, athletic offensive linemen, and Andre did it because he’s so strong and athletic. A lot of defensive ends are so athletic that you don’t try to block them, you try to read them, and we were able to use all of his talents in our scheme – and I’m sure Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio have a plan for him.”
Giuliani spent six years as a defensive assistant in the NFL with the Jets and Bills, so he knows what an NFL-caliber defender looks like at all positions – and he believes Jones fits that bill perfectly.
“I think he’ll be a really reliable payer, a passionate one who will do whatever he can for his teammates and give you everything he’s got,” he said. “Andre is strong; he can hold up in the run game and win in the pass game, and can handle himself in coverage. When you’re long and disruptive, you will naturally be a pain for offenses, and he fits right in with what those NFL edge players look like.”
There may be excitement around Jones, but seventh-round picks are often longshots to make a roster
“Andre will give it everything he’s got, because this is an opportunity he’s dreamed of and worked his whole life for. He put in the work at our level, and he’s as close now as he’s ever been,” Giuliani said. “I get the challenge, but compared to all the guys who didn’t get drafted – those who are drafted are a priority in terms of reps and coaching, and if they didn’t feel strong about Andre, they could’ve just waited on him.”
Apparently, according to Giuliani, a rival NFC East team’s position coach had a third-round grade on Jones, so perhaps it’s fortuitous he fell all the way to the seventh?
“He had a lot of attention and interest from NFL teams, because his passion and enthusiasm for the game is high,” Giuliani said. “He holds himself to a very high standard, and he works hard to make corrections. From the neck up he has everything you want in the discipline and drive.”
The Commanders have quite a group of edge rushers but aren’t exactly stacked at linebacker, so could that benefit Jones’ chances?
“It will play in Andre’s favor that he has the versatility – we’ve joked for the last few years that he looks exactly like Tremaine Edmunds,” Giuliani said. “He doesn’t have the experience playing in the box, but if the Commanders want to give him those reps, he’ll be happy to do it.”
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