Former NFL Scout Gives Dawand Jones Second Round Grade

Ohio State’s Dawand Jones is big and he is a technician.

The Buckeyes’ right tackle (RT) towers over everyone on the field at 6-foot-8, 359 pounds.

He is also a model of consistency.

Jones looks the same (maybe even slightly better) on 2022 game film versus 2021 game film (Ohio State’s Mountain of a Man Dawand Jones a First-Rounder?).

Everything we do around here at First Round Mock is based on the game film.

Dancing on the perimeter

For a man his size, Jones moves exceptionally well in pass protection.

He flat-out put on a clinic against Wisconsin this season.

Jones has a quick first step, and he does a nice job maintaining a wide and even base, as he slides towards the back door of the pocket.

He additionally packs a violent punch and he did a solid job picking up stunts and blitzes.

Most of the time, Jones showed he can block out the sun.

The key phrase here is “Most of the time.”

Jones vs. elite speed and athleticism

This is what keeps Jones out of the first-round.

He has shown consistently over two seasons that top-shelf speed and athleticism causes issues.

Nobody, and I mean nobody is going to overpower this guy or bull rush him. He’s about impossible to go through and he’s tough to get around.

However, he struggles with his body control against elite level speed and athleticism when challenged.

To his credit, he compensates with his high effort level, and that gets it done most of the time.

Road construction

Jones has what it takes to make a lane for running backs in the NFL.

He is a very good positional and leverage blocker and he can get into the second-level, and even further downfield.

It was impressive watching how Jones move around, and he pancakes whoever he can whenever he can.

Where will Jones land?

No pun intended, but I can see Jones ending up with the New York Jets mid second-round.

New York’s starting RT George Fant is as good as gone. Team General Manager Joe Douglas refused to extend Fant (who is scheduled to become a free agent) even after he was coming off a career year in 2021 before he got injured and missed time this season.

Jones reminds me of Fant (Daniel Kelly’s Grade: B-).

In the last draft, New York selected RT Max Mitchell in the fourth-round (Daniel Kelly’s Grade: C-), but he has been sidelined for most of the season with a foot injury and blood clot issue.

The Jets offensive line is one of their weakest links and Jones would be a nice piece of their puzzle.

#79 Dawand Jones 6-foot-8, 359 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2023 NFL Draft Grade: Second-Round (I would select him)

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Bust Probability: Low

Projected by 16.9% (up from 12.5% on November 13) of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of December 16, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: Wisconsin, Penn State and Iowa (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

Level of competition: High

Note: Earned a 90.6 run-blocking grade in 2021. His size and strength helped him tie for fifth in big-time run blocks among Power Five tackles, too. Jones’ pass-protection wasn’t quite as good, but it was still solid, as he held his competition to less than one pressure per game on average (Pro Football Focus)

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report:

Towering, strong, aggressive high-effort offensive tackle with above average lateral foot speed in pass pro and sustain in run blocking. Quick first step and consistently maintains a nice wide base sliding towards the backdoor of the pocket. Good hand placement and strong punch. Good job picking up stunts and blitzes (all but once against Penn State on a well-timed blitz off the edge). Susceptible against elite speed inside and out. Excellent positional run blocker who finishes with leverage. Does a good job using his size to his advantage. Looks good at the second-level, pulling and out in space. Average sustain. Did the job most of the time in pass pro and run blocking.

Final words

If I was sitting in an NFL War-Room, the one word I would use to describe Jones is, consistent.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.