Browns rookie Dawand Jones 'can't wait' for 'big task' of facing Steelers' T.J. Watt

BEREA — Dawand Jones may be rookie. That doesn't mean the Browns right tackle isn't aware of what is awaiting him in first NFL start Monday night at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Big task at hand," Jones said Thursday. "Can't wait, honestly. I couldn't ask for nothing else."

One has to appreciate the enthusiasm of young people. No doubt Jones may have preferred his first start not to feature a likely one-on-one matchup against Steelers star T.J. Watt, one of the league's top pass rusher.

But that's Jones' reality after a season-ending knee injury to Jack Conklin in the season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals. As tough as it is facing Sam Hubbard or Trey Hendrickson, as the fourth-round pick out of Ohio State did in the opener, it's nothing quite like facing a former Defensive Player of the Year.

"Great player, great guy," Jones said. "I've been watching film nonstop. That's already me, but had to be on top of it for sure this week. Just knowing he has so many moves in his arsenal, just got to stay sound."

Watt has 15 career sacks against the Browns, the second highest total by any Steelers defender against any opponent. James Harrison's 19 sacks against the Baltimore Ravens is the team record.

The last time the Browns played Pittsburgh on "Monday Night Football," they also started a rookie fourth-round right tackle in the place of an injured Conklin. It did not turn out well for either James Hudson III or the Browns on that night, with Watt recording four of the Steelers' nine sacks of Baker Mayfield in Pittsburgh's win.

Hudson has started the last three games against the Steelers, including the last two in Pittsburgh. Although Watt didn't played in a Week 3 Browns win in Cleveland last season, he did in the season finale in the Steel City, recording one of the Steelers' seven sacks of Deshaun Watson.

Watson said he is confident in the big rookie in front of him.

“He likes the challenge," Watson said. "He likes to be able to go out there and just play football and do whatever he can for this team, and he's been learning from all the guys across the line, asking questions. … He's going to make sure that he's ready and prepared to go. So it's a great task for him, and I'm excited for his opportunity.”

Many of the those questions Jones has been asking have been directed toward his more experienced offensive line mates. Those questions have increased this week as the magnitude of the assignment grows with him knowing he'll be starting.

That knowledge is one of the things Jones needs more than anything when getting ready to face Watt. It's about being instinctual instead of deliberate.

"I think for him it's truly just having understanding of the scheme and knowing that he knows what to do, so he is not thinking out there, you know what I mean?" left guard Joel Bitonio told the Beacon Journal. "You hear the play, you know what you're doing, and that way he can be on time because T.J. Watt gets off the ball well, especially when he can read the count and stuff. So for him, it's like, make sure you know what you're to do, you're on time. Then use your size and your length."

That size and length is what made Jones such an intriguing prospect coming out of Ohio State. It's what ultimately led the Browns to use the No. 111 overall pick, their initial fourth-round selection, on him.

Jones knows his 6-foot-8, 374-pound frame is a definite weapon he can use against the 6-4, 252-pound Watt. So, too, is his 87-inch wingspan.

Obviously, it's more complicated than just standing in Watt's way and making it difficult for him to get around. However, Jones isn't beyond using whatever edge he may have to win on a snap-by-snap basis against the Browns nemesis.

"Like I said, using my length," Jones said. "Kind of leaves the chest open a little bit during the pass game, so probably using that, but there's other things to it, making sure I get back. There's a limited amount of things because he's a great player, obviously, all around."

Jones' rise from project pick in April to Week 2 starting right tackle has been meteoric one. His rookie minicamp in May left many wondering while he struggled with his conditioning.

His performance in the preseason, including during the two joint practices against the Philadelphia Eagles, was where the transformation began to really show itself. It was during the time in Philadelphia when he began to get some No. 1 reps after Conklin sustained a concussion on the first day of practices.

That's also the moment when Jones showed he could hold his own against some of the best in the league, such as Hassan Reddick, Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat. Now, it will happen in a game that matters in a prime-time environment in a stadium that has been a house of horrors for the Browns while lined up against a perennial All-Pro edge rusher.

"I think he has the experience," Bitonio said. "There's nothing quite like 'Monday Night Football' away game, your first career start against a Defensive Player of the Year. So I'm looking forward to it because he's putting in the work right now, he's really focused and just trying to understand our game plan to put himself in the best position possible."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dawand Jones 'can't wait' for 'task' against Steelers' T.J. Watt