5 Studs and Duds for the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 defeat

Dud: Jedrick Wills, Left Tackle

Up to this point, the rookie left tackle from Alabama has lived up to expectations of being the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 draft. He’s looked strong in pass protection and has shown the ability to dig his heels in and be a productive run blocker.

While Jedrick Wills didn’t struggle in pass protection on Sunday, he had far too many mental mistakes and missed assignments on running plays. In the first half, Wills had a false start that took it from 3rd and 10 to 3rd and 15. Obviously, the Browns may have had to punt even without the penalty, but this offense needs no help shooting itself in the foot.

Wills also looked slow in the run game. On a couple of occasions, he missed open-field blocks that could have turned a 3-yard run into a 15-yard gain. He was also slow when pulling. On one occasion in the red zone, Kareem Hunt ran into him and caused a three-yard loss, which put the Browns behind the chains which is tough to recover from.

Let’s give Wills a break, this is his first subpar performance of the year and he certainly isn’t used to playing in these types of conditions. The bye week will be important for him to learn from mistakes and get better moving forward.