BEREA, Ohio — When Dawand Jones steps foot on the gridiron on any given Sunday, heads into the weight room for a tough session, or sits at a desk in the meeting rooms going over the playbook, phrases echo through his head. Phrases that once may have stung but now solely serve as motivation.
Last year, Jones was gearing up to enter the 2023 NFL Draft. His collegiate playing days were over, and the 6-foot-8, 374-pound offensive lineman was set to go pro. Instead of hearing what he had to offer an NFL team, however, the buzz Jones was hearing was just the opposite.
"I really heard a lot of not really good things. I heard a lot of 'he's slow,' 'he's slow on his feet,' 'he won't be able to adjust to the speed of the game,' 'his weight, is he going to be able to say the same?'" Jones recalled.
After his Pro Day at The Ohio State University and the Combine, reports came out that Jones' work ethic was lacking. Some questioned his dedication to football. While Jones tried to block out the negativity because, to him, those things couldn't be less true.
Regardless of what was being said, Jones saw himself as a second-round pick. He had put enough on tape, he thought, to have a team select him in the first two days of the draft. Unfortunately, the negative marks that Jones had received had taken a toll.
"I try not to listen to what the media says, but you want to at least be prepared. I was waiting for at least round two. That's where I really had my mindset going," Jones said.
The second round came and went. Jones was still on the board. Then, the third round. Jones was still available. It wasn't until round four that Jones' phone finally rang, and he came off the board.
"For me to fall to round four, in my opinion, I look as a blessing now, but it was definitely a little disappointing. But I try to just make it up on the field and just show that my film and my attitude—a lot of teams missed out on," Jones said. "I definitely didn't expect that to happen, but at that point it's like, 'what can you do?' So you just face it, you move on, you learn from it. I had to learn from whatever I did in that process to drop that far and do what I do. I can't take it back now. Just take the blessing I was dealt with and now I'm here."
Thirty-one other teams passed up on Jones before Browns general manager Andrew Browns dialed his number and let him know that he had a new home in Cleveland, Ohio. From that moment on, Jones decided he would make the other teams regret not selecting him.
Through rookie minicamp, Jones worked on his conditioning. He pushed himself to be ready for his moment. The words "slow," "weight," and "unathletic" ran through his mind every step of the way. He wanted to replace those words with things he felt described him better. Words that he wishes were said about him as he entered the draft.
"He's a big man who can move."
"Light on his feet."
"Punisher. He enforces."
Those are the things Jones thinks should have been said about him—and are things he spent his rookie season trying to prove.
After injuries on the offensive line saw Jones thrust into a starting role, that's when he got to turn the negativity into motivation.
"The name-calling, the athleticism part, stuff like that, I just really use it as motivation, put it into my game, put into my workouts," Jones said. "I was just thinking things while I was working out just so I could attack the workout better. And then I feel like it just paid off. I really don't ask for much from the man, but I go to him every now and then I just asked him to just get better."
Jones got better and played harder, and before he sustained a season-ending knee injury that required surgery, he was one of the top-performing rookies. The games he did play earned him All-Rookie honors. He proved his doubters wrong.
"I feel like this past year I really displayed that on film and I feel a lot of teams missed out on not having a lengthier player or a bigger player on the field," he said.
Now, with his first year in the books and the 2024 NFL Draft underway, Jones has some advice for the players who find themselves on the Browns in the later rounds, perhaps after not expecting to fall as far as they might.
"You're in a great organization if you fall with the Browns," Jones said. "Stay humble, be blessed no matter where you go, keep your head down and just keep working always. That's what I really tell myself, tell younger guys who ask me for help, and I would tell the guys [drafted by the Browns] that same thing."
Those players will join Jones, who continues to use falling in the draft last year as motivation through his knee rehab. And while he already proved himself to the doubters last year, he's not done proving himself to himself.
"Coming off injury I just want to make sure I keep my head down, rehab as best as possible and just honestly get back to where I was last year and even better," he said.
