'No redshirts' for Browns rookie tackle Dawand Jones with Steelers' T.J. Watt awaiting

BEREA — Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard was Dawand Jones' introduction to regular-season NFL football. That's nothing like the "welcome to prime time" awaiting the Browns rookie right tackle next Monday night in Pittsburgh.

Jack Conklin's season-ending knee injury sustained in the second quarter of the Browns' season-opening win over the Bengals has opened the door for Jones, the fourth-round pick out of Ohio State, to start on "Monday Night Football" next week against the Steelers. That means he'll be lining up opposite Pittsburgh's All-Pro edge rusher and former Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt for a majority of the game.

"There are no redshirts in the NFL, so you never know when that opportunity is going to come," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said in a Zoom call with the media Monday. "It happened in the first half of the first game and you have to be ready. He will continue to get better, and then as it pertains to any matchup moving forward, it's the NFL, every week is going to be very difficult. Obviously, going into Pittsburgh is tough on every team that goes into that place. So we'll have a plan and we'll move forward."

This isn't the first time the Browns have gone into a matchup against the Steelers over the last four seasons without Conklin at right tackle. It certainly won't be the first time they've gone against them on a Monday night in Pittsburgh without him.

In fact, the last time the Browns had Conklin in the lineup for a road game against the Steelers was the AFC Wild Card win in January 2021, only their second win ever in the stadium formerly known as Heinz Field. James Hudson III started each of the last two regular-season meetings in Pittsburgh after Conklin sustained a torn patellar tendon in 2021 and an ankle injury in 2022.

The 2021 meeting was also the last time the Browns faced the Steelers on "Monday Night Football." Watt, on his way to being Defensive Player of the Year, had four of Pittsburgh's nine sacks that night.

Watt has 15 career sacks against the Browns. Now, he's going to be facing a rookie making his first NFL start.

"T.J.'s a great player and Dawand's a competitor," center Ethan Pocic said Monday, "so it's just going to be one of those days where you just come out and compete and play ball and have fun."

Jones has been a revelation of sorts since the start of the preseason. The potential was as obvious as his massive 6-foot-8, 374-pound frame, even though he struggled through rookie minicamp in May.

Once training camp arrived, though, it was like a different Jones. He excelled during the four preseason games, and clearly earned the trust of not just Stefanski and offensive line coach Bill Callahan, but of his fellow linemen as well.

"I'd tell you he just gets better every day," Pocic said. "He's always asking questions in the meetings and I'd say every day he just tries to get better and you can really see. Like I said, he did a great job and just happy for how good he did."

Jones primarily had to deal with his fellow former Buckeye Hubbard over the 52 snaps he played in his NFL regular-season debut. The sixth-year pro has been a solid pass rusher through the years, having averaged six sacks a season over his first five years with the Bengals.

In the postgame locker room, Jones admitted a certain familiarity from his days at Ohio State in some of what he saw from Hubbard. Pro Football Focus graded him a 77.8 out of 100 on his pass blocking against the Bengals, crediting him with no pressures and no sacks on 20 passing snaps, which was significantly higher than either his overall (49.7) and run-blocking (38.4) grades from the opener.

"I think some really good moments, some things that he's got to clean up," Stefanski said of Jones' first regular-season appearance. "It's really, honestly, any young player, when you get thrown into the mix early, there's going to be some time to catch up. And I thought he had some good moments, some things that we will work real hard to clean up."

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 first potential start for Browns means facing T.J. Watt