DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2020 NFL Season 2020 NFL Draft Browns select Jedrick Wills with the 10th overall pick

I think we have more than enough guys on the roster right now to call it settled. If that is our weakness, I'll take it.

I also expect us to not only grab one perhaps in the 4th, but we'll bring in a few UDFA's, too.

I consider it a non-issue... it's just a thing that Callahan has to work the guys to see who gets the nod.

A sheer numbers game suggest that a % of guys fail at the transition.

The good, he's only 20 years old.

I hope I'm not hijacking the question... but I wonder if the FO feels confident enough in the pick as-is, or if they'll run out and pick up a Peters to provide some vet competition.

I don't feel good about having Wills transition to LT AND essentially give him the starting job all at the same time. Competing with a guy that just had to restructure his contract to stay on the team is not true competition.

Wills has only played right tackle.

What benefit does protecting a QBs blindside have? I think it’s a nice thing to be able to say but I don’t see any real value in it when switching positions.

Gotcha! And yes that is the biggest improvements from last season.

It's a distinct possibility, but I think they might wait until they at least see him in positional drills before they sweat it.

It would be the safe approach, for sure.

With the upgrades to each Tackle position - we don't need great at the RG slot - and I think we probably have the guy on the team that can be plenty good enough.

The implication is that Wills was good enough to be trusted with blocking the blindside and that if they had had a right-handed QB he would have been slotted in at LT..... and a player like him, had he been a "natural" LT his entire career, would have been a slam dunk choice.

I think protecting the blind side has some relevance because you typically do not get help from a TE. I did try and watch some game tape of Alabama when I researching Wills. I noticed that they didn't really line-up the TE right next to either tackle on most plays. They tended to flex the TE and sometimes even use him like a H-back.

As others have said, Wills seems to have a lot of natural athletic talent. With Callahan as the o-line coach, and a scheme that is already put together systemically, I feel he will make the jump successfully.

I would still draft an OG.

Wait, so the Packers traded up in hopes that another team would trade up with them for that pick???

I would to, and I expect we will look to, but if we don't we have enough that it definitely won't kill us.

Maybe in round 5 or 6 ... I'd like to see S, LB, DE and probably a WR before I see a OG taken personally.

p.s. I haven't been this stoked about a Draft pick since Joe Thomas.

I'm going to have to rein myself in to keep myself from putting Joe T-like expectations on Wills.

I think the Browns have more than enough talent on offense.

The season is going to come down to the same things as last year:

--QB play
--Coaching
--Chemistry

All three are question marks at this point. I think all three can improve, but we really don't know.

I think he played right tackle because he played right tackle in high school.

Interesting to me to see Rap say that we barely thought of Wills until we saw him drop. I wonder if we assumed NYG/SD/AZ would take him ... and I wonder who we DID have mocked

Wills was the top-rated tackle on the Browns' draft board, Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta said. 

Yup. Pretty much.

Yup.
Just remembered that little bit this morning and smiled a bit.

I like the pick. But at the end of the day that means nothing unless he performs. I remember that people liked the Justin Gilbert ("Best CB in the Draft!!!") and Corey Coleman ("Best WR in the Draft!!!") picks too, and those didn't turn out well.

I like the trenches though, so any time we make a pick to bolsters either line and none of the experts are saying "reach" then I'm on board. O-line is a huge need, lets hope this is a home run.

I love Baldy’s breakdowns ... he loves him some browns fans

Breaking News: Nick Chubb has already scored his first two TD's of the 2020 season.

lol, this was my guy. Pretty much the only guy i "pimped' or whatever we used to call it (is it still called that?). I found myself liking all four Tackles, and i wanted them above the next tier. But, i said all along that, for me, Jedrick Wills is in a class with only Andrew Thomas, and i thought he was still clearly better than Thomas.

I can't help it man, i'm going to pimp my guy until i'm wrong, lol. This pick was probably my favorite pick we've made since Joe Thomas. I was excited about Baker, because he was my number 2 QB (behind Rosen), and I thought/still think he is going to be a good one.

But, just like with Joe Thomas, when they said that name, i'm running around the house pumping my arms all excited. I was in college when we drafted Joe Thomas, so it was a bit of a different environment, i remember falling to my knees and saying "Thank God", but this was as close as that's ever been for me.

This guy has me convinced. And a lot of folks overlooked him on the basis of being a RT. But, Andrew Berry and company must have read my posts on here and Twitter and said, "PeteyDanger approved", lol



Anyway,


What went through my head with this is that possibly his HS ran the ball a lot. Maybe that was there scheme. Right handed QB hands the ball off to the right side and runs behind the bulldozer that was Wills. I mean, if you're not throwing the football at all, or if you have a running qb that runs to the right, the LT might not be as important as your RT. You might want your RT to be your best player.

Now, i don't watch much HS football. I'm from CT. It's not a thing like it is in Ohio. Just went through my head, so feel free to tell me if i'm wrong and that makes no sense



I believe the past two LTs before Wills was Jonah Williams (went to Cincy 1st round) and Cam Robinson (who was a great college LT, but i think he switched to RT in the pros).

So, he wouldn't have played LT for Hurts

While I love Joe Thomas, I still take his evals of young players with a grain of salt. Until I see he's willing to really rip someone, I don't see my opinion changing.

Re: draft... I was so bummed that both Simmons and Thomas were off the board. I don't hate the Wills pick, just feel that Thomas would've been better. By all indications, the FO disagrees... oh well.

I was absolutely positive that with 3 QBs taken in the top 10, and Carolina passing on Simmons, we would have one of those 2 drop to us. Oh well.


I expect we hit defense hard pretty much the rest of the draft.

I don't think you are wrong. It makes sense and was wondering the same thing. Not sure if it's true, but it is a legit question/thought.

Much like yourself, his extensive playing time at RT with nothing in regards to playing LT had me concerned. I'm not a fan of drafting someone that highly with the expectations of making a position switch. But knowing that it was a distinct possibility given our choices, I did a lot of digging on both him and Wirfs.

What I came away with was this.....

First, the skill set to man the LT position is certainly there. Most RT's are playing that position due to the lesser athletic ability to play LT. That is something that I dispelled right away.

I looked at his grades. I know this isn't the be all end all of anything but I think it gives us a look into whether a player has the mental capacity to be taught considering he will have to make such a transition. What I found that he was an undergraduate in marketing with a 3.82 grade average. That addressed my concerns in that department.

I know you're well aware that even though he played RT, he did protect the QB's blind side but as many have also noted he pretty much played on an island which I know that you also garnered from your observations.

And lastly I looked at scouting reports. What I found was that Wills was projected by many to make the move to LT well before the combine. I feel we both agree that he has the technique and skill set that would lend itself to the LT position. These projections were attributed to him from game film and not a dog and pony show. (combine)

But what I don't like are players who are elevated to a much higher draft status or are said to have the ability to make such a transition based on their combine. To me, if people can not make those projections based on the game film, it makes such evaluations highly questionable.

So when considering the evidence I found after doing some research my concerns were greatly diminished.

Wirfs by contrast did not meet that criteria. Many scouts had him projected as a RT and some a G in the NFL before the combine. Had we have selected Wirfs my level of concern would have been much greater.

That is a very good post. Balanced and fair w/good observations and evidence.

One reason I was kind of sweet on Josh Jones was because I thought he would be a big help to the run game ... I feel the same way about Wills.

The transition to pass protection on the left is an unknown - and even if he struggles more than many have suggested, I think he's going to be a beast in the run game and will be better than what we had in 2019 in pass protection. Not who I was expecting but I think it's very hard to fault this pick.

A bit like the Mayfield, Rosen, Lamar, Darnold draft .... it's going to be fascinating to see how and who develops over the next 3 years from Thomas, Wills, Wirfs, Becton, Austin, Jones ...

j/c...

I am 70-80% sure that on the big video review of the top 4 OT that was posted here - that Wills big initial kick step was discussed (as a negative) and there was a clip from the Senior bowl where he's shown and this first step had been addressed and coached to be a more controlled/balanced step. Also think it showed Wills on the left taking reps and looking exactly the same as he did on the right....

One thing that I think Jake mentioned, and I noticed as well - and you can see from his angle here, is that he tends to get wide with that kick and not deep. One some of the snaps in Jake's tweet, you can see where this leaves a HUGE hole inside, especially when he sets up wide. This is just like candy for a baby for quick DLine that want to twist.... so, hopefully this is something he can get cleaned up with his switch to the left.

This to me sounds like a simple matter of learning angles... I hope Wills is good with trigonometry!

Ahhh SOHCAHTOA!

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-brow...impression=true

It was Josh Jones he was talking about being coached up at the Senior Bowl.

Will see how quickly they address and coach out that big kick step out of Wills - definitely you can see the vulnerability it produces. The good news is that on the left side he has Bitonio on his inside.