The Cleveland Browns had the worst offense in the NFL last season by a number of different metrics, most notably due to their league-worst 15.2 points per game and 32nd-ranked turnover differential.
The Browns were also second-worst in the league with 66 sacks given up, which is a number that left tackle Dawand Jones and the rest of his offensive line surely know has to improve.
Jones has a lot of pressure on him to prove that he can be the franchise left tackle this team needs him to be, and ahead of a daunting Week 1 matchup against Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, Cleveland.com’s Ashley Bastock wrote about how Jones recently praised his superstar teammate for helping him get prepared for Hendrickson.
“Really grateful I have Myles,” Jones said. “Like you said, just battle through it all. He just gets me better.”
Hendrickson led the NFL with 17.5 sacks last season and recently ended his much-discussed hold-in.
Jones is heading into his third season, but this is the first year in which he is the unquestioned starter at left tackle.
He showed glimpses of becoming a star last year prior to breaking his leg, and now that the Browns have let former first-round pick Jedrick Wills Jr. go in free agency, all the focus is on Jones and whether or not he can develop into an elite blind-side protector.
Joe Flacco won the starting quarterback job and is nearing 41 years old.
He doesn’t have the ability to take 66 sacks like Browns quarterbacks did last year, so the hope is that Garrett has attacked Jones enough in practice to sharpen him into a true anchor for this line.
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