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.

When the Cleveland Browns selected tackle Jedrick Wills 10th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft the pick was made with the intention of being their left tackle of the future for years to come. Now entering year four, what appeared to be a likely outcome has now turned into uncertainty. The Browns need Wills to take the next step forward in 2023 and prove that he is worthy of sticking around.

Cleveland’s front office opted to pick up the fifth-year option on Wills, which on one hand is understandable and the other is not. The locked in salary for 2024-25 gives the Browns a quantifiable number to work off of when it comes to the salary of Wills which should allow them to properly allocate financial resources elsewhere. The problem is that the former Alabama right tackle will be paid $14 million next season and his time at left tackle in the NFL has not necessarily justified that commitment.

There are times when Jedrick Wills looks like a solid left tackle, and others not so much. Wills is able to handle the average and below-average pass rushers, but anything more than that and things become dicey. Add in the the times that Wills looks like he gives up on the play, standing around watching it play out and that is not the greatest look. This type of pattern and performance split is something that is often found in players who are average.

The issue is that Cleveland did not commit next year’s high dollar figure for average. They did not plan on taking a tackle that is nothing more than average at 10th overall. For the Browns to truly have their left tackle for the foreseeable future and Wills to prove he is better than a run of the mill tackle, he will have to step it up and prove it this season. If not, a future that appeared very certain becomes very murky rather quickly. And that is something that nobody in Berea can afford to happen.

There is one thing that the current Cleveland Browns regime has not been afraid to do and that is pick up the fifth-year option on eligible players. Like Myles Garrett, David Njoku, Denzel Ward, and Baker Mayfield before him, Jedrick Wills has had his fifth-year option picked up. Wills will be paid just over $14 million in 2024.

The one positive from this is that the Browns front office now has a locked in number for how much is being allocated to the left tackle position for the next two years. Unfortunately that is outweighed by the negatives. The fact of the matter is that Wills is an incredibly average left tackle who does not do anything particularly well. Multiple times per game Wills will end up standing and watching the play after he was beat or he decides his part of the play is done.

Wills is the 22nd-highest paid left tackle in 2023, with a cap hit just over $6.2 million. As things stand currently Wills would be 15th among left tackles next season with his fifth-year option number. The thing is Wills has performed more like the 22nd ranked tackle not the 15th and that is a big problem.

Money will be tight very soon for the Browns

Another thing to consider is that the Browns will be in a crunch financially sooner rather than later and already allocating this type of dollar figure to a player who has not proven to have earned it yet seems foolish. Add in that Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio, and Jack Conklin are set to make just under $45 million combined in 2024 and it is clear that they have backed themselves into a corner here. There are outs in the contracts of Teller and Bitonio, but Cleveland would be stuck with a dead cap figure around $15.5 million. Restructures can and likely will happen for the offensive line and others with high salary numbers, but until then these are the numbers to go by.

The harsh reality is that this Browns team is not as close to being a contender this season and most likely the next as well. Taking what limited financial flexibility that they had and using it in this manner seems rather foolish for a front office that has been praised for being smart, tough, and accountable. Three traits that as time goes by it seems like they really do not actually possess and are not any different from most front offices, holding no edge whatsoever in how they go about their business.