While waiting for the draft sheets (starting March 8), the editorial staff of DNA of Sports offers you, every Tuesday, a spotlight on the future nuggets who will join the NFL in 2023.
Dawand Jones
Born August 6, 2001 in Indianapolis, Indiana
2m03 for 163 kilos
Offensive tackle, Ohio State, senior
It’s a rock, it’s a peak, it’s a peninsula! Bigger than your biggest pal, NFL franchises have him on their radar. NFL quarterbacks have it on their wishlists.
If I were a quality: immense
Very tall, Dawand Jones necessarily has long arms: his wingspan is the largest ever measured in 75 years of Senior Bowl! It is identical to that of NBA basketball player Anthony Davis!
Like a boxer or a judoka, this gives him the advantage of the reach when framing his opponent. This size also gives him another advantage: when he is caught in a hurry and his opponent is outflanking him, his long arms allow him to still be in contact and thus be able to push the pass rusher out of the way. reaching his target (the QB): it is for these two reasons that certain prospects in this position are sometimes called T-Rex!
Of course, Dawand Jones is not just an incredible physical specimen. Benefiting from a coaching of quality in one of the five best football programs in the NCAA, he also has a technical background allowing him to sublimate his natural attributes. Placement of the hands, anchoring of the supports and taking of angles are still to be perfected: but as for any rookie arriving at “the big ones”.
As for the ground game, it is a distributor of very salty pancakes!
If I were a fault: speed
Dawand Jones is not slow, which is impressive for a “man-and-a-half” like him. But if he has always played on the right side of the offensive line, it’s not for nothing.
On the left side, in 99% of cases, a tackle must protect the blind side of his quarterback. This term refers to the fact that a right-handed QB turns his shoulders and pivots his hips to the right before throwing: his field of vision on his left is therefore reduced and we then speak of Blindside.
In the NFL, he will have to face very fast players like Micah Parsons (Cowboys), Von Miller (Bills) or TJ Watt (Steelers). By aligning Dawand Jones on the right, his quarterback can see more that the latter is beaten and that the pressure is very close.
Faced with the felines populating the outside of the Dlines in the NFL, he will be beaten. Not often, but it will happen. Ungrateful position, an offensive tackle can win 60 other duels in his NFL match, if he concedes 2 sacks then his match will be qualified as a failure!
If I was an NFL player: Trent Brown (Patriots)
Physically, the comparison makes sense. Both giants among giants. Effective and even winning a Super Bowl, Trent Brown showed that such a “troll” was capable of succeeding in the NFL. Six years before him, the Cardinals had tried, in vain, with Herm Johnson!
Dawand Jones has benefited from Ohio State’s exposure, and playing on a superior team 95% of the time, so his rating should allow him to be drafted relatively early, like another giant: Mekhi Becton (Jets) , 11th choice in 2020.
If I was a draft pick: 8-24
Like every year, the NFL Combine will help establish the hierarchy in this position. Because it is no longer the scouts who are present to make a report: it is the managers and coaches who are on site. And that changes everything!
The visual impression, as well as the interviews, regularly make players seduce and see their ratings rise significantly during the draft process. Dawand Jones was good in the Senior Bowl, before aborting the experiment after a suspected concussion. If he confirms at the NFL Combine, his rating could skyrocket.
If I were an NFL team: Pittsburgh Steelers
With pick 17, Dawand Jones is an option for Pitt’s franchise. To provide more protection for young Kenny Pickett and to help runner Najee Harris take the right breach.
In the first round, the Falcons (8), Jets (13), Patriots (14), Packers (15), Chargers (21) and Jaguars (24) should also be interested.
For this, Dawand Jones will have to stand out from a fine vintage at the post: Paris Johnson (Ohio State), Peter Skoronski (Northwestern), Broderick Jones (Georgia), Blake Freeland (BYU), Darnell Wright (Tennessee), Anton Harrison ( Oklahoma) or Quebecer Matthew Bergeron (Syracuse).
