Browns OT Dawand Jones disputes predraft NBA ‘dream’ report

The 2023 NFL draft is over but reporting and analysis coming out of it is not. The Cleveland Browns got great value based on the consensus big board, have been lauded for their sixth-round selection of OL Luke Wypler and had three of their returning receivers identified as “losers” from the draft process.

Besides the selection of Wypler, the Browns value versus the consensus big board came from picking OT Dawand Jones in the fourth round. The Ohio State Buckeyes star was expected to be an early day two selection. His size gives Cleveland some options for the future on the offensive line.

Highlights from Jones playing basketball in high school were impressive to see but new reporting by Albert Breer puts those in a new light:

Fourth-rounder Dawand Jones’s predraft process went as sideways as possible (constant weight questions, handling of the Senior Bowl and pro day, telling teams his dream was to play in the NBA, not the NFL), but the fourth round was a good place to bet on his immense talent.

The weight questions are real as Jones seemed slimmed down at the NFL combine but still weighed in at 374 pounds. He was not reweighed at the Buckeyes Pro Day. The NBA dream is interesting, given those highlights, but Jones took to Twitter to dispute those (when Breer’s report was aggregated by another account):

At 6’8”, Jones is one of the tallest players in the NFL but would be a slightly undersized (from a height perspective) power forward in the NBA.

For the Browns, Jones gets to work with Bill Callahan with the expectation that he won’t be needed to play regular snaps on the field for at least a season or more. The Ohio State star gets a chance to prove doubters wrong and, potentially, use his size to his advantage.