Cleveland Browns: Jedrick Wills ranked lower than OTs drafted after him

Jared Mueller of Browns Wire discussed how Jedrick Wills was ranked behind offensive tackles taken after him but the Cleveland Browns shouldn’t panic

In need of some help on the offensive line last season, the Cleveland Browns went out and added a bookend for each side of the line. In free agency, they added Jack Conklin who manned the right tackle position, and then in the draft, they took Jedrick Wills from Alabama at No. 10 overall.

Wills ended up playing left tackle, which was a change for him since he was a star on the right side for the Crimson Tide. He did have some growing pains but overall, was a great addition to arguably the best line in the game.

However, Wils apparently fell behind a couple of players drafted after him in terms of OL rankings. According to Jared Mueller of Browns Wire, Tristan Wirfs and Mekhi Becton were put ahead of Wills in a recent ESPN subscriber ranking.

As Mueller stated though, this was just for the 2020 season and Cleveland didn’t take Wills only to help them last season. His selection was made with the future in mind and we can’t get worked up over one year.

"“Through one season, Wills may not be viewed as high as the other two drafted shortly after him but Cleveland did not draft him only for 2020. Instead, it will be interesting to continue to compare Wills to Becton, Wirfs and Thomas over the next 5-10 seasons.” — Mueller, Browns Wire"

Wills was making a pretty big change by not only moving from the collegiate level to the pros but he was also taking on a new position. And he had to do so without being able to meet with his coaches over the offseason due to limitations on offseason work due to the pandemic.

With that being considered, Wills really did better than many players in his situation may have. As for his future with the team, if he was able to get the job done in the face of so much uncertainty, there should be a lot of hope for him to make some huge improvements going forward.

Not only that, but the rankings aren’t important at all. What matters is whether or not the player Cleveland selected is getting the job done and so far, Wills is doing that.