Bengals: Why Dawand Jones makes sense in the second round
Momentum for the Cincinnati Bengals selecting an offensive tackle in the first round of the NFL Draft is dwindling. The consensus top three prospects at the position, Paris Johnson Jr., Peter Skoronski, and Broderick Jones, are all near-locks for the top 20 picks. Darnell Wright may be right behind them in the rankings, but he […]
Momentum for the Cincinnati Bengals selecting an offensive tackle in the first round of the NFL Draft is dwindling.
The consensus top three prospects at the position, Paris Johnson Jr., Peter Skoronski, and Broderick Jones, are all near-locks for the top 20 picks. Darnell Wright may be right behind them in the rankings, but he could end up going before at least one of those three.
That leaves the Bengals with, at best, the fifth tackle off the board to chose from with pick No. 28 in the Draft. Not exactly the best case scenario.
Dawand Jones has often been labeled as that fifth-best tackle during the pre-draft process, but not testing at his pro day combined with questions regarding his weight seemed to have capped his stock.
The former Ohio State tackle wasn't even included in ESPN Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest two-round mock draft. The Athletic's Dane Brugler ranks Jones 62nd overall on his big board.
All of the sudden, Jones falling to the end of the second round is becoming a very real possibility. In the latest episode of Hear That Podcast Growlin', The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. discussed the idea of Cincinnati drafting Jones at the end of the second round if every other team passes on him due to schematic and weight-related reasons.
"You wonder because he is going to be very scheme specific if that does move him a long way down the board," Dehner mentioned regarding Jones. "Could that ship him down deeper into the second round just because people are scared of that size? There's no way I'm gonna be running outside zone or whatever, like so many teams do they can be out here, trotting out Dawand Jones at tackle. I haven't really thought that you could maybe see him at 60 but I guess you never know."
There are not many people better at evaluating offensive line play than Brandon Thorn, who scouts the position for Bleacher Report and has his own newsletter breaking down trench warfare that's aptly named, Trench Warfare. Thorn told Dehner Jr. how falling to the Bengals beyond the first round would be a blessing in disguise for the 21-year old offensive lineman.
"That would be great for him honestly," Thorn said of Jones falling to 60th overall. "I mean, not for his wallet, obviously. But in terms of his earning power long-term even I think that would probably be the best thing for him to go to a team later. You know, normalize those expectations a little bit and go to maybe a better spot for him. That would probably best thing for him is the Bengals at 60. That'd be one of the ideal spots I think."
If Jones were to end up in the first round, the Bengals make the most sense considering what they need in a right tackle. But if he's not viewed as that caliber of player around the league, then there's no reason to select him that early.
The Bengals will want to draft someone high on their board in the first round, a player that may've slipped through the cracks after the first 27 picks. Jones would likely be a reach at a position they may not feel forced to address. Jonah Williams is still on the team, after all.
But if Jones still finds himself without a team and the third round is on the horizon, it could be enough for the Bengals to pull the trigger and take the risk. They've hosted Jones on a top-30 visit this offseason as well.
