The seeds of Dawand Jones’ swift evolution were planted in a tough rookie minicamp
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Browns practice and interviews …
Dawand Jones’ first NFL start against Pittsburgh edge rusher T.J. Watt on Monday may be the ultimate baptism-by-fire for a rookie offensive lineman.
Watt, the 2021 NFL defensive player-of-the-year, will line up primarily over Jones and attack Deshaun Watson from the right side of Watson's protection. Watt’s next sack makes him the franchise’s all-time leader in the category. He had three against the 49ers in a Pittsburgh loss last week.
Which makes Jones, at least on Monday night, the most important of the Browns’ Rookie Class of 2023. The fact he is in this vital position in the season’s second week shows how far the big rookie tackle has come in a short time.
Line coach Bill Callahan was all over Dawand Jones in rookie minicamp. It's paying off now. (TLOD)
When Jones arrived at rookie minicamp in May two weeks after being taken in the fourth round, there were only three other offensive linemen on hand – tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr., center Luke Wypler and a tryout guard named Robert Mitchell. Those four players had the misfortune of coming under the intense scrutiny of demanding line coach Bill Callahan, who works his rookies like a drill sergeant at boot camp.
Jones, who weighed in charitably at 375 pounds, stumbled through some of the footwork drills and needed more time to recover. Callahan would have none of it. Even as Jones was bent on one knee on the side, retching and catching his breath, Callahan blistered Jones with a raspy mixture of commands and expletives.
Until Jones couldn’t take it anymore.
The big guy picked himself up and approached Callahan while barking at him. Within seconds, Jones was in the face of Callahan, who is old enough to be his grandfather and about a foot shorter and 200 pounds lighter. Two other coaches watching intently rushed to the scene and separated them while jawing continued. Neither man backed down.
“I think he was probably just testing me,” Jones said on Thursday in front of his locker following his appearance at the makeshift locker room podium, which is usually reserved for the team’s stars. “I was upset. That wasn’t the way I wanted to be coached that day, in that manner. So I just made it clear that day.
“I told him I wanted to be coached to the best of his ability. Just you can’t do certain things that you [don’t] do to other players. That’s not how I wanted things.”
On that day, coach and player, generations apart, left the field together in deep conversation.
And ever since, Jones has been Callahan’s prized student.
If Callahan’s point was to challenge Jones’ stamina, or prepare him for the grind ahead, consider it mission accomplished. Jones played every snap in the Browns’ preseason opener in Canton and finished with 223 of a possible 292 (76 percent) through the four exhibition games – by far the most of any offensive player.
Prior to the third game in Philadelphia, Jones was promoted to the first team when Jack Conklin suffered a concussion in joint practices. When Conklin went down with multiple torn knee ligaments in the second quarter in the opener against the Bengals, Jones turned in a credible 52 snaps.
“I thought he had some good moments, some things that we will work real hard to clean up,” said coach Kevin Stefanski.
Just making his first NFL start against any player on any team would be quite a challenge for a fourth-round rookie in his second week of his first season. But this is T.J. Watt, who has 15 sacks against the Browns in 10 games – his most against any team – in Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium (nee Heinz Field), where Styx’s Renegade will be blaring over the loudspeakers to pump up the Steelers’ defense in the third quarter.
“Big task ahead,” Jones said. “Can’t wait. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for nothing else.
“I think they’ll probably put [Watt] majority on my side just because I’m younger, a rookie. They’re going to try to definitely make me a target. But I got to step up to the plate, step up to the challenge.”
Quarterback Deshaun Watson said of the Jones-Watt matchup: “I’m very confident. He likes the challenge. He likes to be able to go out there and just play football and do whatever he can for this team, and he’s been learning from all the guys across the line, asking questions. And Bill Callahan, he’s going to make sure that he’s ready and prepared to go.”
Yes, that preparation started in May. Jones can see that now.
Full circle for A-Walk
It will be an emotional game Monday night in Pittsburgh for linebacker Anthony Walker.
Almost exactly a year ago, Walker suffered a serious torn quadriceps tendon injury against the Steelers in a Thursday night prime-time game in Cleveland.
The rehab was gruelling, but Walker made it back and answered the bell in the opener, getting the start at his customary middle linebacker spot and playing 33 snaps on defense and 14 on special teams.
“I sent a message to the linebackers yesterday, obviously very grateful to be back on the field last week,” Walker said. “Never want to take that for granted. This week is a little bit more [special] for me, obviously a night game, Pittsburgh Steelers, last year around the same time was when I got hurt. So, yeah, it means a little bit more. I’ll leave it at that. But yeah, it’ll be fun.”
Brownie bits
The best nicknames often happen organically. On Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin showered respect on Nick Chubb by referring to him on first reference as “Mr. Chubb.” He said it two other times in his weekly news conference. Chubb responded on Thursday, “I didn’t even hear anything about that. I don’t know what to say.” Stefanski played along when he acknowledged, “I don’t think it’s any secret that Mr. Chubb is a big part of our attack, a big part of what we do.” …
Four Browns did not practice because of injuries: Defensive tackle Shelby Harris (Achilles), defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (hamstring), safety Juan Thornhill (calf) and defensive tackle Siaki Ika (foot). Also, left tackle Jedrick Wills (foot) was limited …
Watson celebrated his 28th birthday …
On top of everything else, the Steelers are 20-0 in their last 20 “Monday Night Football” games at home. They haven’t lost a MNF game in Pittsburgh since 1991. “You got to go out there and earn it. They’re not going to give it to us. That’s a very impressive stat for them,” Watson said.
