The Cleveland Browns took a gamble on Dawand Jones but what can they expect from him?
The Cleveland Browns took a gamble on Dawand Jones, a fourth-round pick out of the Ohio State University. Jones, blessed with incredible size, is 6’8 and anywhere from 360 lbs to closer to 400 lbs depending on who you believe. He’s a mammoth of an offensive lineman and his reports from the senior pro practices were encouraging.
But he comes with some unexpected baggage. That weight? It’s unknown for a variety of reasons, mostly down to him not weighing in at his Pro Day. A peculiar move. And that’s the thing with Jones, there’s been a lot of odd things about him.
Now, a lot of his pros and cons come down to who you believe. Some reported that Jones told NFL teams his real dream was to play in the NBA. Frankly, I believe he probably said that, but I fail to see why that would be damaging to a player’s prospects. The NFL is a job, it’s not a career. Many people would love to play the game, and others just play to get paid. There is no “right” reason to be in the NFL.
So does Jones have some cons? Yes, he does, but he also has some pros too. Just like every rookie in NFL history has had. That’s why today we’re looking at his three biggest pros and his three biggest cons.
This is not a final judgment or estimate of him as a player. It should be noted that we don’t know how good Jones will be, we’re just pointing out the best and worst qualities of the Browns’ newest behemoth. He could be very very good, very very bad, somewhere in between, or somewhere else totally unexpected. We don’t know and we’re not going to plan to know.
These are just the things that have us optimistic and concerned the most about the young offensive tackle
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.
Cons
His Size
It’s one thing to be tall and heavy, it’s one thing to be out of shape and overweight. While it’s great that Dawand Jones is 6’8 and 350+ lbs, there’s a report that he may have weighed closer to 400 lbs at his Pro Day at Ohio State. The quickest thing that kills performances in pro sports is weight issues. Not only does it impact your mobility but it also opens you up to injury. We’re not sure why he may have ballooned up as much as he did, and we’re not even sure if he did, but this rumor never would’ve been mentioned if his weight wasn’t a genuine concern.
Reported peculiar issues at Senior Bowl
We’re not sure exactly what the issues that Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot claimed were happening at the Senior Bowl, but apparently it may have revolved around Jones pulling out of the game due to concussion concerns and no one telling the scouts that. That doesn’t seem like a big to-do but there may have been more to this story, as some high-level executives have apparently said their team wasn’t going to pick Jones at all. Regardless of where he landed.
The biggest concerns were his weight, film, and “other issues”.
Injury Concerns
Injuries are very likely for people who are out of shape, and it sounds like Jones may be one of those people, we can’t be sure. Yet, that’s not why injuries are a concern for us. No, injuries are a concern for us because Jones himself has said injuries have been a concern lately. Jones explained in his draft day teleconference why didn’t want to weigh in, saying;
"“I’ve just been dealing with a couple injuries,”Jone said in his draft day teleconference. “I just didn’t want to chance anything or make it worse in any type of way, so I talked with my agent. He heard me in the process. I’m just here to work and there’s no other words to talk about, but I was very fearful of how it would pan out. Cleveland gave me a chance and I’m just happy to be here.”"
Is anyone else concerned that Jones, who hasn’t played a game in over four months, is still injured, with multiple afflictions? That’s not something you want to hear from someone of his size.