Jedrick Wills must be better in 2023

The 2022 NFL season was not one to remember for the Cleveland Browns left tackle.

If the Cleveland Browns offense is going to take a step forward this season they are going to need a better performance from left tackle Jedrick Wills. Wills was not at his best in 2022 and that is simply not acceptable. There are certain expectations placed upon a left tackle drafted in the Top-10 and last year Wills was not meeting them.

Last season saw Jedrick Wills commit 10 penalties, tied for the 15th-most in the NFL. Of those 10, eight were accepted (tied for 14th-most) as one was declined and the other offsetting. Wills was called for holding seven times, had two false starts, and one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. As expected, the top end of this list if full of offensive linemen, but that does not excuse Wills’ penalty frequency. This is in addition to Wills’ tendency to give up on plays last season. An often occurrence that was incredibly frustrating to watch.

Jedrick Wills was one of two Browns offensive linemen to commit 10 penalties, the other being Jack Conklin who only saw six accepted. Neither is acceptable by any means, but Wills being Cleveland’s left tackle and proverbial “blindside blocker“, makes it a bit more frustrating. Left tackle is one of the most important positions on a team and if he commits frequent penalties it makes it incredibly hard to trust his ability to protect the quarterback adequately.

Pro Football Focus graded Wills’ 2022 at 62.9, which falls into average by their scale. The players who end up in this range are usually the recipient of one of the more accurate grades from PFF as there tends to be issues on the extreme ends of their grading system. Equally as insightful as PFF’s grade of Wills is his Madden rating of 79. Again, this is incredibly average and nothing special, which seems to be what Jedrick Wills is as a NFL left tackle.

There is nothing wrong with being an average offensive linemen. However, it is important to contextualize where he falls among his peers at the position and the hierarchy of players that the Browns may want to extend at some point. Currently, Wills is unextendable. There is simply not a long enough track record of being consistently good to warrant an extension at the moment. Perhaps a better year in 2023 changes that and he stays beyond his fifth-year option in 2024. But right now, Cleveland’s front office better be putting together a succession plan for Wills in the case he does not improve and continues to be an incosnittent presence on their offensive line.