In 2019, the Browns entered the season with something that had become foreign to them — high expectations. They were coming off a 2018 season that saw them finish 7-8-1, a world of difference from the previous two seasons when they finished a combined 1-31. Baker Mayfield was entering Year 2, and paired with supposed offensive maestro Freddie Kitchens, who was promoted to head coach, the Browns were about to take the league by storm.
Unfortunately, the Football Gods stomped on Browns fans' hearts — again — as the Browns endured a 2-6 start, followed by the mirage of a three-game win streak, before folding down the stretch to the tune of a 1-4 finish. The end result: 6-10, house-cleaning, rinse, repeat. A common refrain in Cleveland since Jimmy Haslam took over in 2012.
The only silver lining was the high draft pick the Browns received in return for their pain and suffering. This pick wound up being 10th overall, and with it, the Browns selected offensive tackle Jedrick Wills out of Alabama. The logic was sound: shore up your new franchise quarterback's blindside with a player on a nearly identical career timeline; this is what competence looks like.
The thing that really makes this miss sting, though, is the fact that just three picks later, the Buccaneers selected Tristan Wirfs. The all-world left tackle has been named to the All-Pro team twice, to go along with five Pro Bowl nods. Sigh.
Wills isn't your prototypical Browns failed draft pick. He was mostly average for the balance of his career, and through his first three seasons he managed to stay relatively healthy playing 15, 13, and 17 games respectively. An MCL injury in 2023 knocked him out for half the season, but his resume to that point convinced Andrew Berry to pick up his fifth-year option.
It was the pesky knee injury that never fully healed (limiting Wills to only five games in 2024) that led to his infamous "business decision" quote.
Jedrick Wills is suddenly back on the radar for O-line-needy teams
Wills wound up sitting out the entirety of the 2025 season, purportedly to rehab his injured knee, and like a phoenix from the ashes, he's back. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported Thursday that Wills has already visited the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots to begin his free agency tour, with more teams on deck.
With the 2026 NFL Draft on the horizon, the Browns still find themselves in need of a franchise left tackle. In yet another example of how failures by the front office have a ripple effect years down the line, the Browns have widely been projected to address the trenches near the top of the draft.
New head coach Todd Monken only fanned the flames when he told Ian Rapoport that the Browns' main focus this offseason will be "building it up front." If only Wills had worked out for the Browns, they wouldn't need to build it from scratch.