5 Best Cleveland Browns offseason moves

1. Drafting Jedrick Wills

As good as all their previous moves were, the Cleveland Browns season was going to live or die by the offensive line. The signing of Jack Conklin was huge as it helped shore up one of the spots on the line, but the most important position on any line is the left tackle spot.

For years, Cleveland didn’t have to worry about this due to the presence of Joe Thomas. The former first-round pick out of Wisconsin manned the spot from 2007 through 2017 and once he decided to retire, the Browns saw just how much they had taken for granted.

First up in the effort to replace Thomas was Desmond Harrison, the undrafted free agent from West Georgia — who had a lot of talent but even more red flags. Harrison had to go through the small-school after being removed from Texas before ever playing for them. He started eight games but struggled mightily before being benched for Greg Robinson.

Harrison is now out of the league after some off-field incidents, as is Robinson who was arrested this offseason as he allegedly tried to smuggle 157 pounds of marijuana across the border. Even before this transgression, the Browns had decided to move on from Robinson, who didn’t get the job done in 2019.

With those options failing for them, Cleveland finally decided to dedicate a top draft pick on a left tackle as they took Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, Jr. at No. 10 overall. He played on the right side collegiately, but Wills has the athleticism to make the transition and there’s little doubt he will be a success at the next level.

While the offensive linemen don’t get the glory, they are arguably the most important part of any offense. The Browns learned this the hard way and adding someone of Wills pedigree is a move that comes a couple of years too late.

But at least it finally came. And it was the most important move they made all offseason.