The Cleveland Browns roster is loaded with unanswered questions at a handful of positions. 2022 fourth-round pick Dawand Jones hopes to be the answer at one of them.
Despite spending the entirety of his football career as a right tackle, the 6-foot-8, behemoth of a man is trying to master one of the most important positions in football by flipping to left tackle.
It's a task that's easier said than done, and admittedly, Jones doesn't love playing on the left side. In the name of what's best for the team, though, he's embracing the challenge.
"My main thing is just to take the challenge on," Jones said at OTAs this week. "I kept it as real as possible with [Andrew Berry], I personally don't like playing left tackle like that, but I don't care. I'm athletic. It comes with the nature of the game and I think if [Tristan] Wirfs can do it and he went from right to left, he struggled too and if he can do it, I know I can because he's athletic enough, he's big enough just like me."
Wirfs is just one example of a player who has made the switch from right tackle to left tackle upon coming to the NFL as a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The man Jones is replacing, Jedrick Wills is another.
Ironically, both players were first-rounders in 2020, three picks apart, actually. While Wirfs has gone on to be a multi-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler, though, Wills produced an inconsistent four years, plagued by questions about his love of football and injuries.
It's why the Alabama product remains unsigned at the moment. The Browns spent years hoping Wills was a long-term answer at the position; now they'll dream about Jones filling that void instead. To do it, he'll have to make the transition that Wills couldn't.
"It's just different just because of the angles," Jones said of the switch. "That's the main thing for me. I'm still trying to figure that out, just the way to shave or something and it just comes to you more naturally.
"You're right-handed. It's like doing everything with your left, writing with your left. I feel like I'm going to start doing that stuff in life, just start doing everything with my left and I'm already trying to do that so I feel like it's working for me."
Jones got a small taste of playing left tackle last season. The Ohio State product appeared in three games in Weeks 8, 9 and 11 before suffering a broken fibula against the Saints. Jones held his own in the role during that stretch, getting progressively better each week.
According to PFF his run blocking grade jumped gradually from 38.8, to 43.0, to 68.5 during that span. Similarly, his pass blocking grades jumped from 54.0, to 57.9, to 75.9.
Those three games are hardly enough to judge if he'll be able to handle the job for the entirety of a 17-game season. The presence of 11-year veteran Joel Bitonio, who has seen some things throughout his career, at left guard should help make the transition go smoother.
"He's right next to me in the meetings. I lean on Joel a lot, though," Jones said. "He's right next to me at meetings and I think he helps me out just because he knows I'm a young guy. I haven't played on that side and so he kind of gives me the cheat sheet."
Bitonio's expertise is nice. Ultimately, it's up to Jones whether he sinks or swims.
"I kind of try to figure things out on my own, which it's football. You got to," he added.
Aside from the Browns' unpredictable quarterback competition, Jones has been the talk of the offseason program so far. The Indiana native admitted to taking better care of his body this offseason, changing his regimen and dropping body fat. The results are glorious.
Jones looks slimmer, more athletic. His movements are less lumbering and more fluid. It's a really good sign that he may just pull this position change off.
The real test begins, however, when he has to start blocking Myles Garrett everyday at practice. Garrett has not been present for the team's voluntary OTAs, but will arrive in Berea next week for mandatory minicamp.
A matchup with Myles can break even the best of tackles. Jones also knows it should make him better.
"He has a lot of power. I think that's the main thing I've learned, and his finesse," said Jones. "His finesse at the top of the rush or just shock and shed you, I think that's where I can really learn a lot of figuring out my hands, where to put them and I think he'll help me out a lot."
