BEREA — Training camp is fast approaching for the Browns.

Rookies are scheduled to report on July 22, with the veterans coming in the next day. The Browns will then head to the Greenbrier in West Virginia on July 25 for the first of seven practices over nine days there before returning to Berea for the remainder of camp.

Leading up to the start of camp, each Browns position group is getting its moment in the spotlight. Today, the offensive tackles take center stage.

For the previous position group previews, look here:

∙ Quarterbacks

∙ Running backs

∙ Tight ends

∙ Wide receivers

Here's a look at the Browns offensive tackles heading into training camp.

On the Cleveland Browns roster: Offensive tackles

Jedrick Wills Jr., Jack Conklin, Dawand Jones, James Hudson III, Hakeem Adeniji, Roy Mbaetka, Lorenzo Thompson

Projected starters: Jedrick Wills Jr. (left) and Jack Conklin (right)

This position group is both among the most understood and the most mysterious on the Browns. It's understood because there are, when healthy, a clear top three with Wills, Conklin and second-year pro Dawand Jones, who is also a right tackle. It's mysterious because of the injury history/concerns all three of those players are battling, with injuries ending all of their seasons at various points last year. Wills will be playing on his fifth-year option and, when he's eventually cleared to resume on-field drills, will re-take his spot at left tackle. Conklin posted on social media last week he was back and ready to go after losing virtually all of last season to a Week 1 knee injury. If true, it would seem like the two-time All-Pro would get the nod over Jones, who was outstanding filling in for Conklin until his own season-ending knee injury. Jones was the only one of the three who was on the field during OTAs and minicamp, which is something to keep in mind going into camp.

One to watch: Dawand Jones

The 2023 fourth-round pick out of Ohio State went from project to potentially one of the steals of the draft with the way he performed as a rookie when he was thrust into the starting lineup after Conklin suffered his Week 1 knee injury. At 6-foot-8 and 374 pounds, Jones is a mountain of a human being, and proved to be just as difficult to get around for opposing pass rushers. According to Pro Football Focus, on 391 passing snaps last season, Jones allowed just 21 pressures and three sacks. Jones' development, however, was cut short when he suffered a season-ending medial collateral ligament tear before a Week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was back on the field working out in full drills during the offseason program, a very positive sign. The question will be if his progress leads to the Browns making decisions on Conklin's future — such as looking for a potential trade once he's shown he can play in games — or on trying out Jones at left tackle.

Potential training camp battle: James Hudson III and Hakeem Adeniji as primary backup tackle

This wouldn't seem like a question at all at face value. Hudson is someone who has started eight games, including last season's wild card loss, and made 46 career appearances for the Browns since being a 2021 fourth-round pick. The organization and Hudson have a mutual comfort level with each other. Adeniji, meanwhile, was a free-agent addition in the spring, a player on his third organization in five seasons. A little deeper look at him, though, shows a tackle who could factor into the mix. Adeniji has started 16 career games, including seven playoff games — one of them the Super Bowl — for the Cincinnati Bengals, in 50 career appearances. That's significant experience to lean on for a team knowing it has to win now. The Browns could even look to keep both of them, considering the injury history of their top three tackles.

Impact of injuries entering training camp

This was one of the most snake-bitten positions in the entire NFL a year ago. The Browns can't afford to replicate that this season.

Wills watched drills during minicamp with a compression sleeve on his leg, although no one would say definitively when he was expected to be fully cleared for football drills. He underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee in December after suffering a high-grade sprain to the MCL, a low-grade sprain to the posterior cruciate ligament and bone bruises in a Week 9 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Jones, as previously mentioned, was a full participant in the offseason program at right tackle after his MCL procedure. So any lingering impact on training camp, short a day off here or there, would be an unexpected development.

Conklin, as he did after a 2021 patellar tendon injury, was ravenous in his recovery work from the latest injury, even if it didn't mean doing on-field drills. He tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and his MCL in the opener, just over nine months after signing a new four-year deal with the Browns.

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: Browns training camp preview: Jedrick Wills Jr. and offensive tackles