Cleveland Browns OT Dawand Jones is a massive human, with the confidence seemingly to match. Measuring in at 6-foot-8 and 374 pounds (although he’s reportedly slimmed down a little), Jones is a physical specimen. While it has some advantages, there are also some disadvantages that come with being that big, one being that Jones blocks for his quarterback in more ways than one. During his press conference yesterday, Deshaun Watson said he can’t see over Jones all that well.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to definitely move in the pocket a little bit to create some windows for myself,” Watson said when asked if he has trouble seeing over Jones, via transcripts provided by the team.
A quarterback not being able to see over his offensive linemen is usually a problem we see with shorter quarterbacks, but Watson is listed at 6-foot-3. That speaks to just how big Jones is, but it’s also going to make life harder for the Browns to operate. If Watson can’t see downfield and has to wait even just milliseconds more in the pocket to make his reads, that will allow more time for the Pittsburgh pass rush to get to him.
In general, Watson can also lose focus and get thrown off his rhythm if something is continually blocking his view, and while Jones has earned praise for his work since being drafted by the Browns, including in Week One, it was a game where Watson’s individual numbers weren’t all that impressive. While Cleveland won 24-3 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Watson was 16-of-29 for 154 yards and one touchdown with one interception, with Jones becoming more involved in the early second quarter when he replaced the injured Jack Conklin.
It’s not a great problem for the Browns to have, and while it’s fixable by the mobile Watson being able to move around the pocket a little more, it’s still something Pittsburgh can look to take advantage of. They can disguise coverages and work to bring extra pressure to throw Watson off, especially if he’s going to have issues seeing after the ball is snapped.
The Steelers are going to have a long climb to bouncing back if they start 0-2, so defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is going to have to get creative and cook up some ways for Pittsburgh to get every advantage it can. Knowing Watson struggles to see over Jones could lead to some new and hopefully successful possibilities on defense.
