Anyone receiving praise from former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas should treat it as a confidence-booster.
After all, he is a Pro Football Hall of Famer who played an NFL record 10,363 consecutive snaps.
He became a six-time First-Team All-Pro and a ten-time Pro Bowler through those reps.
That said, rookie right tackle Dawand Jones must feel good about himself after receiving praise from the Browns legend.
In an article by cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, Thomas said about Jones:
“The thing that impressed me the most was just the mindset that he had and the commitment that he had to be great. You don’t always see that with guys that are big and talented. Sometimes those guys don’t really want to be great as much as they just became great because of their God-given abilities. But Dawand really seems to have the ‘it’ that he wants to be great.”
#Browns HOFer Joe Thomas: His impressions of rookie right tackle Dawand Jones, and what he can expect from #Steelers T.J. Watt in his 1st #NFL start next Monday night https://t.co/sPGuh7OkY4
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 12, 2023
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski will have Jones starting at right tackle moving forward after Jack Conklin suffered season-ending ACL and MCL tears.
He will have his hands full because the Pittsburgh Steelers are standing in their way to a 2-0 start for the first time since 1993.
The Steelers have T.J. Watt, who became the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year after tying the single-season sack record (22.5).
The Browns selected Jones in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
He played four seasons at Ohio State, becoming a 2022 First-Team All-American and two-time Second-Team All-Big Ten member.
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