JUST IN: Browns have a contender as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

Dawand Jones has been a blessing this season

There was a collective sigh around Browns Stadium when the starting right tackle, Jack Conklin, was lost in Week 1 against the defending champion Cincinnati Bengals.

One of the top three offensive lines in the NFL was predicted to be the Browns’ unit. Assuming all of the starters stay healthy, that is. Conklin, regrettably, is the most injured player on our team while having incredible skill when playing. As a result, when he was injured in just 22 plays, tearing both his ACL and MCL, many started to wonder what would happen next and who would replace him.

The past two seasons, the heir apparent was James Hudson, the former fourth-round prospect out of the University of Cincinnati. In all, Conklin missed 12 games which Hudson filled most of them if veteran Chris Hubbard wasn’t healthy and could be inserted instead.

The surprise from the bench was that instead of Hudson hearing his name called like in the past, it was rookie fourth-rounder Dawand Jones out of Ohio State.

RELATED: GET TO KNOW DAWAND JONES

And now, for five games, Jones has been entrenched into the right tackle position. Within those five matches, there have been 377 offensive snaps. Jones has taken 349 of those snap counts.

Several media outlets are stating that the Browns’ offense is well-coached even though they have lost their starting quarterback, starting right tackle, starting running back, starting left guard, and backup left guard.

Big competition

Jones is a mountain of a man standing 6’-8” and weighing a whopping 360 pounds. He was a bit heavier (374 pounds) when he showed up for training camp and was told to slim down. The word “slim” doesn’t exactly pertain to Jones, but he did lose some weight. The difference was that his first step became quicker. Everyone knows an offensive tackle needs great feet.

Suddenly thrust into action against the Bengals, Jones was pitted against DE Sam Hubbard. The results were astonishing in that Jones played very well and did not appear like he was blocking in his first-ever NFL contest. Hubbard was active in the run stoppage game with eight tackles that game, but he had zero sacks, zero tackles for loss, and zero QB hits.

As Conklin found a new home via the IR list once again, Jones was penciled in to start in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It should be noted that the Steelers’ defense is usually full of game-changers and is tough to move the ball against. It just so happened that Jones would be lined up with one of the best pass rushers in the league T.J. Watt.

In that game, Cleveland gave away the game with several turnovers that resulted in 17 points for

Pittsburgh. Jones meanwhile held his ground as Watt got just four tackles, two tackles for loss, four QB hits, and a mere sack. This is a guy who has double-digit sacks the past few years and eight so far this season. So, for Jones to give up a single sack to a pass-rushing demon says quite a bit about his progress so early in his young career.

Jones was scheduled to play against Ravens DE Justin Madubuike and Tennessee Titans DEs Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry in Weeks 3 and 4, respectively. Simmons did not record any further stats and was limited to only two tackles. Two tackles, two QB hits, one sack, and one tackle for loss were all recorded by Madubuike. But his bag was a publicity gimmick and wasn’t made by Jones. Except Autry didn’t have a sack when he got engaged to Jones.

And then there was the performance that Jones gave against the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa, the current NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He finished with three tackles in all, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, and one sack.