The Trench Warfare 2023 NFL Draft Film Room - Episode 7 featuring Ohio State RT Dawand Jones

Photo via Tyler Wise

Welcome everyone to the seventh edition of the 2023 NFL Draft film room series where I sit down with OL prospects in the upcoming draft class. The intent is to shine a light on each player’s story and skill-set while watching their college film together. The focus will be on the best competition they faced to best assess the strengths of their game and what they can rely on during their pro careers. 

We will discuss technique, scheme, dive into opponents and take you inside their preparation leading up to the game and how they processed information in real time. During our talks, players often share unique anecdotes and stories from the game and their careers that you can only find here on Trench Warfare.

So far for the 2023 draft class I have had on Tennessee RT Darnell Wright, Northwestern LT Peter Skoronski, Florida RG O’Cyrus Torrence, TCU LG Steve Avila, Oklahoma LT Anton Harrison and Minnesota C John Michael Schmitz. Next up in Ohio State RT Dawand Jones.

Ohio State RT Dawand Jones

Dawand Jones is a two-year starting right tackle for the Buckeyes who will turn 22-years old on August 6th. Jones is a towering figure on the field at 6’8” 375 pounds with unmatched reach (36 3/8”) and baseball mitts for hands (11 5/8”). His initial quickness and snap timing allow him to get to spots quickly in protection and close space on rushers, which result in him blotting out a lot of opponents and elongating their path to the quarterback. Jones shows the ability to maximize his length with good strike timing and snap in his hands to jolt rushers back, disrupt their timing and keep them at his fingertips up the arc.

He also is a weapon in the run game similar to Patriots LT Trent Brown (especially during Brown’s early days in San Francisco), using light feet and his giant frame to delete smaller targets when his initial punch lands. For a more comprehensive and detailed view on Jones as a prospect you can read my scouting report on him here.

Here are some of the topics we discussed during our film room:

• Maximizing elite length to keep defenders off of your frame and at your fingertips

• Switching up your approach in pass-protection to keep rushers guessing and disrupt their timing

• Highlighting Jones’ power and nastiness in the run game

  • Video Preview

• Mixing in the snatch-trap technique to steal leverage away from leaning defenders

• Showing an example of when using a Hamilton technique would have kept a defender blocked with more control

• Breaking down matchups against Iowa edge Lucas Van Ness and Wisconsin edge Nick Herbig

• How an NFL scout influenced Jones from his 2021 season to incorporate more physicality and nastiness into his game in 2022

• How film study and advance scouting opponent tendencies helps on gameday

• What Dawand wants to accomplish at his Pro Day

• Discussing an epic knockout finish against Maryland

Full Dawand Jones Film Room: