Cleveland Browns: New year’s Day 7-Round mock brings new hope
By Randy Gurzi
Round 1: Jedrick Wills, OT, Alabama
While John Dorsey did offer up some talent for Cleveland, he failed to do something rather important — fix the offensive line. Not only did they keep from improving, the line actually got worse under Dorsey’s watch.
He can’t be blamed for Joe Thomas retiring but he didn’t do enough to replace their All-Pro talent on the left side of the line.
More from Browns Draft
- Browns mock draft: Mazi Smith headlines 2023 class
- One and Done: First year Browns players that didn’t earn a second season
- 3 Michigan Wolverines Cleveland Browns could draft
- 3 positions the Cleveland Browns must draft in 2023
- 2023 draft class suits Browns needs at wide receiver
Greg Robinson wasn’t able to hold down the fort there and on the right side, Chris Hubbard proved to be a poor fit despite the massive contract.
They also gave up Kevin Zeitler in a trade. While it made sense what Dorsey was doing in landing Olivier Vernon, the selection of Austin Corbett in 2018 ended up backfiring.
Here, Cleveland gets to work rebuilding that line with Jedrick Wills from Alabama. He’s a right tackle and most would expect a left tackle this early but that shouldn’t matter since the Cleveland front-five needs a lot of work.
Wills is able to start the second he walks onto the field and could be the most pro-ready offensive linemen in the draft. And should the Browns land someone capable of starting at left tackle either in a trade or free agency, their line would be massively improved.