The Cleveland Browns walked away with a very big man when they drafted Dawand Jones, but he was expected to be taken way earlier in the draft. However, he did not hear his name until the fourth round.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed this week that teams became concerned about Jones’ commitment to the NFL.
During interviews, he told teams that his dream is to play in the NBA.
“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.”
Not helping his situation was Jones dealing with weight questions and mishandling the Senior Bowl.
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Jones refuted the reporting:
Prior to attending Ohio State, Jones played basketball during high school in Indiana.
He once asked his Buckeyes coaches about joining the OSU basketball team, according to Nathan Baird of Cleveland.com. He had basketball scholarship offers from MAC institutions as well.
“I just had to take my business from basketball and push it to football and make that dream the same dream,” Jones said, per Baird. “I used to say I wanted the NBA. So I just switched that to the NFL. All that’s changed. I just let it go out the window.”
The 6’8″, 374-pound lineman started all 13 games at right tackle for Ohio State last season, earning All-American honors in the process
He could end up being the steal of the draft for the Browns.
