3 early pros and cons regarding Cleveland Browns rookie Dawand Jones
By Chad Porto
Pros
His Size
Now, being smaller doesn’t mean you can’t be a great NFL offensive line, but being bigger does make it a bit easier. With longer limbs, you can have more control and leverage over a lighter player. While the size can be a problem if you’re engaged with a smaller, power-based rusher, for the most part, Dawand Jones will be playing against guys who are standing nearly upright. This gives Jones, hopefully, a power and leverage advantage. Plus, at well over 350 lbs, few players will have the strength to blow him off the line of scrimmage.
If he is, however, ever blown off with ease, he needs to be cut immediately. No one with his strength and size should ever be easy to move.
Low-Risk Gamble
The Browns took him in the 4th round of the NFL Draft and it was pretty evident from the start that the Browns got him solely due to his size. Sure, he may turn into a great player, but he’s here due to his enormous stature. The Browns know this, and they’re fine with this. Most fourth-round picks are off the team in three to four years anyway, it’s not like the team wasted a first-round pick on him.
Mauled High-Valued Prospects at Senior Bowl
It’s easy to maul people at Ohio State, as they sometimes play teams like Bowling Green, Akron, Ohio University, Rutgers, Minnesota, or Michigan. You know, teams that they can or have historically pummelled. At the Senior Bowl practices, however, Jones faced off with the best defensive ends in the nation and apparently mauled them into the turf.