BEREA — Dawand Jones knows the challenge will be significant in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The reigning NFL sack leader, Trey Hendrickson, is quite the opening-day opponent.
The Browns left tackle, however, isn’t changing his approach as he gets ready to deal with the Bengals star.
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“Just the same as any week,” Jones said Sept. 4. “I got the best pass rushers. So I’m going to treat it like any other week.”
There’s a whole lot of truth in Jones’ words. The first month of the Browns’ season provides its share of quality pass rushers for the third-year pro to have to handle.
After Hendrickson will be the Baltimore Ravens’ outside linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh, followed by the Green Bay Packers and their shiny new pass rusher, Micah Parsons. The Detroit Lions have flipped Aidan Hutchison to the right side of the defensive line before, while the Minnesota Vikings have a pair of edge rushers in Jonathan Grennard and Andrew Van Ginkel who are capable of making a tackle’s job difficult.
All of those pass rushers can wait. For now, it’s all about Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17.5 sacks.
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“It’s his motor,” Jones said of Hendrickson. “That’s the main thing that keeps him going is his motor. Obviously he has moves and stuff like that, but he’s relentless. He never stops, and so I need to match his motor, the whole game.”
The challenge of defending Hendrickson, who ended an offseason-long contract dispute in late August, is maybe the most difficult one Jones has had since transitioning to left tackle in the 2024 season. Granted, that transition was merely a handful of games before he suffered a season-ending broken fibula in Week 11 against the New Orleans Saints.
Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Dawand Jones (79) chats with defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice at minicamp June 10, 2025, in Berea, Ohio.
Jones’ first opening-day start at left tackle will have one relative safety blanket with him. That’s Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio, who’s familiar with helping out against Hendrickson in previous games against Cincinnati.
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Hendrickson has six career sacks, five tackles for loss and 12 career quarterback hits in seven games against the Browns. Bitonio, who’s faced him in six of those games, said you have to have a plan to defend to stop one of the best defensive players in the league.
“I think we have to know where our help is,” Bitonio said. “I think you’re going to try and get chips, you’re going to try and slide his way, you’re going to try and make plays for him. Hopefully he can run the ball to keep from those pass rushing situations, but it’s really focusing on our fundamentals. And knowing his premier moves, he’s going to power, he’s going to work inside, he’s going to work as edge, but he plays so hard, you have to match his energy as well. That’s kind of where it starts.”
There’s another secret Jones has working for him. It’s actually not a secret at all.
There’s pros and cons to having to line up against Myles Garrett on virtually every practice rep against a defense. The cons are the kind of daily toll it could take on a weak-minded player having to endure facing one of the top two edge rushers in the game.
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The pros are, at least the biggest one of them, the ways it can provide a player with the callouses necessary to deal with any other top-level edge rusher.
Really grateful,” Jones said. “I have Myles, like you said, just battle through it all. He just gets me better.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dawand Jones’ challenge? Dealing with Bengals star Trey Hendrickson