No one was quite sure what the Browns would do in Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft. Cleveland could have taken a different player or even traded down. Staying at 10 was the wise decision as they made a pick that should make an immediate impact.
A lot of people were either expecting or wanting the Browns to trade down. I was not one of them. I am a firm believer that if a team has a pick in the top half of the 1st Round that they are better off making the pick than trading down. The possibility of more picks is tantalizing, but often times what a team gets in the trade down does not equal the player they passed on. Cleveland has experienced this quite a few times in the last 15 years or so.
Now, their selection at 10. The way the draft unfolded Cleveland had their options of Jedrick Wills Jr., Tristan Wirfs, and Mekhi Becton. With the teams current roster construction and current window that they are in, their options were really Wirfs or Wills. Becton may have the ability to develop into this Jonathan Ogden type player many project him as, but the key word here is develop. The Browns do not have time for someone to develop, they needed an instant starter. If this was three or four years ago, sure, take Becton and let him develop while taking loss after loss. This does not apply currently.
Wills or Wirfs were the only real options here and they took Wills. Some will argue over the archaic right tackle vs. left tackle way of viewing things, but it comes down to one thing. Can he block? If the answer is yes, it’s a move in the right direction.
