Game overview:
You know the drill with the Hall of Fame game… Most of the players you’d like to see are NOT playing in it…they aren’t even dressed for play. It’s mostly a battle of lower-level roster players and the game stinks with rare scouting nuggets to glean/take away.
Not this HOF game.
I can’t remember a time that I watched a game and was so focused on the offensive line…strike that…so focused on an offensive lineman. I could not stop watching and rewatching Browns rookie OT Dawand Jones…who started and played most/all the game, I believe.
Let me add some Dawand context here… I scouted/I graded/I believe that Dawand Jones was one of the five best, most important prospects from the 2023 NFL Draft. But the NFL didn’t agree…he was drafted #111 overall. Why the fall/disparity? People thought he liked basketball over football too much and he didn’t participate in drills at his Pro Day.
NFL coaches are insufferable…nothing is more important to them than some crazed passion to eat-sleep-drink football 24/7…because they do. So, Dawand is a pretty vanilla, calm personality…happy-go-lucky off the field…and wanted to not risk his legs at his Pro Day -- this all happening AFTER he showed out in one day/one practice at the Senior Bowl, one of the most jaw dropping/dominant performances I’ve seen from a prospect at the Senior Bowl, he then dropped that mic and left Mobile after one practice (a fact which NFL coaches hate too, even though many top prospects leave that event early now in a similar fashion). Dawand has college tape and a Senior Bowl day that says he’s an elite NFL prospect. But he didn’t get drafted as such due to his perceived ‘lack of passion’ for football.
I don’t care if he likes poetry and gardening as a passion -- when that dude steps onto a football field to play offensive line -- he’s mostly impenetrable. He’s a slow moving, silent, gigantic monster. He toyed with Jalen Carter like Carter was gnat in the CFB playoffs last season…as Dawand did that to all of his opposing defenders. And Jalen Carter is supposedly the greatest defensive tackle of our generation (he’s not that great by the way).
In this HOF game, Dawand mostly/simply/effortlessly (as he does) just walled off pass rushers and road graded down on run blocking. In a typical HOF/preseason game, the O-Line talent/play is so bad that the poor backup QB’s lives are at risk every snap. You can’t even get successful plays to evaluate offensive players in preseason games because of the awful O-Line play. Not here. Dawand made it so that pretty much the QB’s right hand side was totally clean all night…which changed the game/which is why the Browns ended up winning…because of the ripple effect of Dawand Jones.
Jones doesn’t go out and make highlight pancake blocks to make Dan Campbell types salivate. Dawand barely looks like he’s moving, but he’s so big and nimble enough with historically long arms that he quietly, softly-looking in some cases just walls off pass rushers and just caves in/walls off defenders in the run game. He’s so massive with such reach, sometimes he’s like 1.5 blockers all on his own…offenses play the opponent with an 11.5 v. 11 advantage with Dawand.
When the Browns wanted to convert a 4th & 1 at midfield in this game…they ran a QB sneak. Who do you think the QB ran behind? Kellen Mond went out of his way to try to get behind Dawand, who just effortlessly caved in/pushed forward his side of the line for an easy conversion.
Early in the game, Dawand had Jets 2022 1st-round pick pass rusher Jermaine Johnson coming at him. Johnson got held up by Dawand his first 2 pass rushes, but on like his third surge versus Jones -- Johnson kinda grabbed/batted down Dawand’s arms and used that to propel past Jones and thus Dawand was beaten for the first time this game (and like the only time this game). It didn’t result in a sack, just someone actually got by him and pressured the play. The next play, it was like Dawand was either mad about it or was delighted that he had a challenge…so, Dawand ramped up his movements and just crushed Johnson the next snap…and for the rest of the time JJ was out there. Johnson couldn’t get by a fired up Dawand the best day he ever lived. Johnson must be a useless 1st-round pick pass rusher, you’d have to say, if a 4th-round unpassionate rookie right tackle just toys with him. You get my point.
The Jets, desperately needing O-Line play, reached for Will McDonald to rush the passer in the 1st-round of the 2023 NFL Draft…and they didn’t bother to take Dawand Jones in the draft at all. I’d like to bet on who we’ll be talking about more between them in 3 years…five years…ten years. Guess what happened when Will McDonald lined up across from Dawand in this game?
The rest of the game, Dawand faced lower pass rushers on the depth chart and just toyed with them too. Barely breaking a sweat. If any rusher got a step, Dawand just used his giant tentacles to push them, one-handed, out of the path to the QB. I saw him do that a thousand times at Ohio State.
Why am I going on and on about an offensive lineman in a preseason game analysis for Fantasy Football?
Think about the Fantasy ramifications that the Browns, if I’m correct/if Jones holds up, just got the best offensive lineman in the draft with the #111 pick? Think about the advantage to Deshaun Watson (and I’m taking his projections up when I know Dawand is starting)…and thus the ripple effect advantage to Amari/Elijah/Njoku? Think about the advantage for Chubb-Ford?
Think about the ramifications for the Browns team/season/future!
Think I’m making too big of a deal about this? I made a huge deal about the massive mistake NFL teams made last NFL Draft by not taking Sauce Gardner #1 overall…a generational shutdown corner (as the Texans took mediocre Derek Stingley ahead of Sauce). The Jets got Sauce (fell in their lap), and he completely took away one side of the field in the passing game, as a rookie. The Jets D went from worst in the league to #4 (if I recall right)…in one year. Well, Dawand is going to handle one side of the field too…on offense. He’s going to allow the Browns so much more opportunity -- precious extra seconds for the QB…and ’money’ most anytime Nick Chubb (or anyone) runs over the right-hand side, especially around the goal line and on 4th & short drive extension moments.
Just like Sauce Gardner possibly saved the careers of Robert Saleh and D-C Geoff Ulbrich…Dawand is potentially going to save Kevin Stefanski.
…that’s IF Stefanski uses it…and doesn’t get stuck in ‘bringing rookies along slowly’ or ‘he’s just a 4th-round pick’ mentality. And the thing is…the Browns have an established, very good right and left tackle already. I would guarantee Stefanski isn’t going to push Dawand over either established, good tackle or switch people around to get Dawand into the starting lineup ASAP. But if an injury hits in-season, and Dawand gets forced in (how many great players get revealed, not on purpose) watch out.
The Browns are on the verge of the biggest stroke of good fortune they have had in a long time. They are on the verge of having THEE best O-Line in the game by far…and it’s already great. If/when Dawand happens…the Browns are a real threat to Cincy in the AFC North…it’s that serious. The Browns have a game changing ‘thing’ in the palm of their hands…and they will likely keep it in a box/have it ‘benched’ for as long as they can. Typical Browns…
If I were the Browns owner/GM, if my head coach didn’t do everything in his power to get Dawand up-to-speed and properly motivated -- I’d fire them before Week 1. Chances like this only come around so often. But Tyrod Taylor was also named the Week 1 starter in L.A. the year they drafted Justin Herbert…so, NFL coaches are masters at ruining their own careers by having absolutely no clue of the talent they have -- they want yes sir, no sir grinders to be at the office at 4am more than they want unadulterated talent to shape and mold and prosper from.
Every projection for Fantasy and win/loss changes when/if/as Dawand Jones settles in as an NFL starter. Or Cleveland can be a scrappy wild card hopeful every other year while Dawand is punished/kept sidelined for being too naturally good and not biting kneecaps crazy for football.
Oh, and there was an actual game played here aside from Dawand-watching…and the game sucked, as usual. But we do have some non-Dawand scouting notes to discuss…
Scouting Notes from the game:
-- Just a ‘fan’ or ‘football worker’ note from me to the NFL…
Dear NFL head coaches,
For the love of God will you please stop trying to make running back John Kelly (10-42-0, 4-27-1/6) a thing!!
Sincerely,
RC Fischer
We got a heavy dose of the Kelly-centric offense (all Kellen Mond could muster) right off the bat for the Browns/this game…and the weird sound you heard last night was TV channels being switched to other shows all over the globe after seeing his first couple carries. What a waste. But every year coaches sign him to their camp, talk him up, and then lament when they have to cut him.
I’m sure he’s a gem of a guy but put him on your coaching staff or something. Stop giving him the ball when you have to evaluate so many other players on the roster.
It happens every August for like the last five+ years with him. Please stop.
-- The Jets countered the ‘electric’ John Kelly with their supposedly electric rookie RB Israel Abanikanda (9-27-1, 1-5-0/1). Not that electric in his debut. He gets a ‘pass’ from me because he looked like he just had NFL debut nerves, like most rookies in the preseason. I was looking to see if he’d transcend the nervous rookie act, but he didn’t. He was tentative and mostly ineffective.
Later on in the game, Browns UDFA RB Haasan Hall (5-34-0) came into the game, in his rookie debut, and played like his NFL life depended on it…which it does…and he was OK/nothing standing out.
Speaking of rookie RBs in this game, the Jets put USC UDFA rookie RB Travis Dye (9-12-0, 0-0-0/1) into the game for some touches -- and ‘not good’. He’ll be in the first wave of cuts soon and headed to the USFL/XFL at best.
-- A non-rookie RB that I was hoping to see was Browns RB/WR Demetric Felton (7-46-1, 2-9-0/3). He was originally a small RB who had such good hands they made him a small WR and return man, but after a splash debut in his first game as a rookie years ago…he was barely seen again.
I can say this, after watching this game -- he’s not a real RB. He needs to go back to WR…or probably, he’s headed to the USFL/XFL.
-- Zach Wilson (3-5 for 65 yards, 0 TDs/0 INTs) started for the Jets and showed that he obviously had the best arm of any QB in this game, but he wasn’t in the game long enough to make anyone change their opinion one way or the other on him.
-- Browns rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (8-11 for 82 yards, 1 TD/0 INT, 6-36-0 rushing) was the biggest beneficiary of Dawand Jones. DTR had time to do what he needed/wanted most every snap, in large part due to Dawand walling off the right side of the O-Line.
DTR looked the most energetic of any of the QBs in this game. He has the tools to be a solid backup/fringe starter in this league. He threw the ball with some zip, and he ran/scrambled effectively…like he did in college. He’s the real #2 for the Browns, not the currently listed #2 Josh Dobbs.
-- Why/how Jets QB Chris Streveler (1-7 for 9 yards, 0 TD/1 INT) is still in the NFL is totally beyond me. He is incompetent. He isn’t good enough to play QB in the XFL/USFL…and he thus ruins the young WRs/TEs trying to show what they can do in these games because he literally cannot complete a basic pass in a game.
-- Browns 3rd-round rookie WR Cedric Tillman (2-35-0/3) didn’t show me anything amazing to make me change my ‘meh’ scouting grades and outlook on him. NFL-worthy but a fringe starter and not built for FF goodness.
-- Jets ‘buzz’ rookie UDFA WR Jason Brownlee (2-17-0/5) was the apple of every Jets QB’s eye when he entered the game, but it was mostly Boyle-Streveler for Brownlee, so it was hard to find real passes to work with. Brownlee looked OK…I was expecting/hoping for a bit more, but he was/looks like an NFL WR with work to do on his game.
-- Jets ‘Combine wonder’ rookie 7th-round pick TE Zach Kuntz (1-6-0/1) had a nice play designed for him to catch the ball and go, and he looked OK…tall and thin, needs body work for a season. Playing with the 2nd-half guys and eventually Streveler kept him (and others) from any more activity. I was hoping Kuntz would play with the 1st-half group, but I didn’t see him if he did.
-- Jets rookie SAF Trey Dean (8 tackles), whom I’m highly intrigued by…led all players in tackles in this game. He looked decent. He made a few really impressive open field tackles. He’s got size. He’s a hitter. He’s just a shade slow…and tested as such at the Combine. But if he can use anticipation to his advantage, he’s got a shot to become an NFL starter someday…he’s got a lot of tools, just a step slow away from being legit.
-- Hot kicker talk…
Cade York (0/1 FG, 3/3 XP) missed his lone field goal attempt and then almost missed his first XP attempt. The guy has a ton of leg talent, but accuracy was an issue last year…and things haven’t started out great this season.
Greg Zuerlein (3/3 FG, 54-yd long, 1/1 XP) did not have such accuracy issues. He looked really solid in his work this game…this after a solid 2022 season -- he’s getting his career back on track in NY.
