NFL insider says Browns need to lock up Jedrick Wills, Jr. long-term

It's hard to find too many takes praising Jedrick Wills, Jr. Seen by many as the weak link of the Cleveland Browns offensive line, the 10th overall pick in 2020 enters this season on the final year of his contract.

It seemed as though the Browns were ready to look for a replacement as they met with several prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, which was a pretty impressive class. In the end, they took Zak Zinter to bolster the line's interior in Round 3, signed Javion Cohen as an undrafted free agent, and left Wills without any competition.

Their only move regarding Wills was to restructure his deal to free up space against the cap. Now, NFL insider Albert Breer believes they should make one more move — which is to extend Wills.

While on the Afternoon Drive on The Fan 92.3, Breer stated that while Wills isn't on a Hall of Fame trajectory, he's a decent starter and that's hard to find. He added that he believes the front office should keep him around, especially since many of the best tackles in the game started to come on strong in year five and beyond.

"That left tackle position is a really difficult one and guys typically get better in year five, year six, year seven," said Breer on 92.3 The Fan. "If you look at the trajectory of certain players you see that they keep getting better as they get older. Jason Peters is that way and he's a Hall of Famer. ... I think if you feel good about how you developed him you should really look at that. And it's not so much I think the guy is the next coming of Anthony Muñoz, More so it's just I think it's really really hard to find a great left tackle, or even a good left tackle."

One point Breer makes is that the coaching staff and front office have to feel good about the way Wills has developed to make this move. Chances are high that they do feel this way, otherwise they wouldn't have kicked some of his guaranteed money down the road. They also wouldn't be entering the season with only Hakeem Adeniji and James Hudson III as alternatives at left tackle.

It wouldn't be popular but Breer could be onto something. If Wills, who had knee surgery this offseason, looks healthy early in the season, he could very well be on his way to a big payday.

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