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Cleveland Browns' Dawand Jones gets 'honest day's work' from effort to improve fitness
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- Cleveland Browns' Dawand Jones gets 'honest day's work' from effort to improve fitness
CANTON — Dawand Jones struggled to make it through his first rookie minicamp practice in May. He missed two of the first three training camp practices in July.
However, when the lights came on for the Browns' first preseason game last Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game, the rookie offensive tackle from Ohio State didn't miss a snap. Matching the number on his massive jersey — 74 — Jones played 100% of Cleveland's offensive snaps, plus four more on special teams.
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The individual most impressed with how far Jones had come just in conditioning from the first day he walked into the Browns' facility to when he walked into Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium last week was Jones himself.
"It's improved a lot," Jones said after the 21-16 Browns' win . "I just went out there and played a whole game so I definitely probably wouldn't have done that at the beginning of minicamp. Just doing the same thing over and over again, it definitely helped a lot."
Jones was the only player from either team to play 100% of the snaps on either offense or defense. Part of it was due to circumstances which may or may not exist again during the preseason.
Browns offensive linemen Dawand Jones (74) and Luke Wypler, right, run a drill May 12 during rookie minicamp in Berea.
With both starting tackles — Jedrick Willis Jr. and Jack Conklin — not playing, as well as backup tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. , it left just three tackles on the Browns' roster to handle the two spots over the four quarters. The Browns coaching staff always knew it was going to be the fourth-round pick from April's draft.
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"He knew going in he was going to play the whole game and I thought we got an honest day's work from him," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on a Friday Zoom call. "Playing the whole game and not playing football in a little while — as you get into training camp and with the heat, I thought he did a nice job."
According to Pro Football Focus, Jones graded out at an 81.1 out of 100 on his pass blocking over 40 passing snaps. He graded out at 60.8 on 34 run snaps, and 69.9 overall.
Jones only drew one accepted penalty, a hold early in the third quarter. He did not allow either a pressure or a hit on either of the two quarterbacks he blocked for in the game.
Cleveland Brown rookie right tackle Dawand Jones (74) towers over the huddle during the Hall of Fame Game between the Browns and the New York Jets at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
"You see him improve every single day," right guard Michael Dunn told the Beacon Journal following the game. "For any rookie, it's a tough situation coming in, especially an offensive tackle, just getting into the system. You've seen his improvements since he first stepped in for OTAs to The Greenbrier to where he showed out today. He's just done everything right and everything asked of him. I expected continued improvement as training camp goes on."
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The first thing Jones needed to correct was his conditioning. The 6-foot-8, 374-pound mountain of a man struggled mightily over the course of not just his three-day rookie minicamp in May, but also the three-day veteran one in June.
Jones took the criticisms he heard at the time to heart. While an illness sidelined him for the Browns' second and third training camp practices, he hasn't missed any other time since the team convened for training camp.
The improvements are something Jones credits to alterations he's made since arriving in the league.
Cleveland Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan, left, works with tackle Dawand Jones at rookie minicamp in Berea on May 12, 2023.
"I'd just say having a better diet and honestly just making sure I'm in different environments I'm going to be at," Jones said, "like we have an altitude room, so I try to take advantage of that and honestly just try to make sure I get enough reps. I feel like the more I'm doing my game, the better I get."
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Jones likely couldn't have picked a better offensive line room to walk into to help him improve. He's playing behind a two-time All-Pro at right tackle in Jack Conklin, with a two-time All-Pro in Joel Bitonio and a two-time Pro Bowler in Wyatt Teller at guard.
It was watching those veterans in the offseason that served as the wake-up to Jones.
"Seeing the vet guys come in after minicamp, OTAs, seeing those guys come in, seeing — no offense, some of the guys may just come off the couch and do what they do," Jones said, "seeing how fast they play, the twitchiness and stuff like that, that was more the motivation part."
Motivation that can only increase after a night like Thursday. That's merely the beginning for Jones, who still has three more preseason games in which he will get opportunities to show he's capable of being one of the backup tackles along with third-year pro James Hudson III.
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Jones is taking the shut-up-and-work approach to that quest.
"You just never know how things fall," Jones said. "I'm just trying to keep my head down, keep the same work ethic. Like I said, when my name's called, it's called."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' Dawand Jones gets 'honest day's work' from improved fitness
