Ohio State Football: Dawand Jones sets record straight on his draft slide

The Ohio State football program didn’t have any former players taken on day two of the 2023 NFL Draft. That was extremely surprising since two offensive linemen were expected to go on that day. Dawand Jones and Luke Wypler were both expected to be either second or third-round picks.

Jones was projected as a borderline first-round pick in most mock drafts. His size at 6’8 and having the longest wingspan at the Combine should have made teams salivate over him. Instead, he slid all the way to the fourth round before the Browns took him.

There was a rumor floating around today that the reason for his slide is that he told NFL personnel during his interviews with teams that his dream is to play in the NBA and not the NFL, which is absurd as it sounds. Jones himself put those stupid rumors to rest.

I have no idea where this rumor came from. It honestly sounds like something this guy made up. Jones didn’t even play basketball at Ohio State and is clearly a football guy. While he played basketball in high school, that doesn’t mean he’d even be close to good enough to go to the NBA.

What could have happened is that Jones told personnel that when he was a kid that was his dream and then things changed. That sounds more realistic. Even so, that should have absolutely zero bearing on his draft stock. He’s a football player and a really good one at that.

We can only speculate as to the reason why Jones really fell. I think it could be because of his weight fluctuations. In any case, the Browns may have gotten the steal of the Draft. Jones could end up starting for them within the next couple of seasons.

I’m looking forward to seeing how good Jones ends up being at the next level.