Dawand Jones fell to the middle rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft due to his size, but going into Year 3, he wants to change that. In position to secure the Browns’ left tackle job, he is putting greater emphasis on his conditioning. He told reporters that he has lost roughly 20 pounds, with Zac Jackson observing that he is “noticeably lighter”.
Of course, 20 pounds for a man who at one point weighed nearly 400 isn’t exactly an extreme makeover. But it’s the next step in a young player’s journey to treat his job as his profession. Dawand Jones is doing the same things we’re seeing from the Steelers’ Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington. All of them came out in 2023, and all of them are taking better care of themselves at a pivotal point.
Through two seasons, Jones has started 17 of 21 games but spent much of last year injured. He started only three games at left tackle before going down for the season due to injury. In fact, he had arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. But he is already participating in OTAs, making a quick recovery.
While Jackson said Dawand Jones “remains a large man”, he added that he is “significantly smaller” compared to last year. Jones also admitted that his weight fluctuated in 2024 as his discipline lapsed. He hopes taking better care of his body will keep him on the field longer.
“My main thing is just to take the challenge on”, Jones said of losing weight and keeping it off. “I personally don’t like playing left tackle like that, but I don’t care. I’m athletic. It comes with the nature of the game”. He added that if Buccaneers OT Tristan Wirfs can move from right to left, he can, too.
Like the Steelers’ Jones, Broderick, Dawand is also going through the process of reconditioning himself for left tackle. While both have played left tackle in the past, most of their recent experience is on the right side. But both are moving full-time into left-tackle jobs this offseason and trying to rewire their brains for it.
While Dawand Jones wasn’t a first-round pick like Broderick, that only makes this season even more important. He doesn’t have a fifth-year option for the Browns to pick up. But he would be due for a contract extension in 2026, eligible to hit free agency in 2027. If he proves that he can be their left tackle, he’ll be a lot richer.
If that means putting down the snacks and hitting the treadmill a little harder, it’s probably worth it. It’s worth it for the health benefits alone, of course. Dawand Jones, still just 23 years old, is starting to realize that. One only hopes he can maintain that discipline, not just throughout his career but after it as well.
