Jedrick Wills is off to a nice start under some extremely trying circumstances. Cleveland’s first-round pick had to learn to play a new position, moving from right to left tackle. He had to do it without the benefit of offseason work with teammates or the preseason. Wills has been a key part of an offensive line that has done a great job of protecting Baker Mayfield and clearing run lanes for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
He’s quickly proving himself to his teammates. Defensive end Porter Gustin was asked about Wills, who he frequently squares off against in practices.
“He has done great, and I think he has come a long way from the beginning of camp until the end,” Gustin said in a Zoom conference with reporters on Monday. “He is out there going against a lot of good pass rushers, and sometimes it does not go his way, but that is how it always is, especially for a rookie coming out here. It is tough. I think he has gotten better from it, learned from it and been able to step it up and come out and do really well on gameday, so it is great.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic, one of Wills’ champions in the draft process, has been validated through the first two weeks,
After never playing left tackle in his life, Jedrick Wills has done a really nice job there in his first 2 NFL games. His performance is vital to the #Browns offensive execution.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) September 18, 2020
From Jordan Reid of The Draft Network, who was skeptical of the position change from right tackle to left,
I'm not a big fan of shuffling the positioning of OL, but Jedrick Wills has been great tonight. He's made the transition from playing only RT at Alabama to now playing LT look easy so far through two games.
— Jordan Reid (@JReidNFL) September 18, 2020
Our friends at the OBR Film Room also like what they’re seeing from Wills, especially in the run game,
Jedrick Wills getting up and through the alley on DART like he's running the rock. Young man is so athletic.
Also, Wyatt Teller peeling here late to pick up 57's blitz saves this 3rd down. Teller has put together two very impressive starts to begin 2020. #Browns pic.twitter.com/yMpoKrZ4Mf
— OBR Film Breakdown (@TheOBRFilmBDN) September 19, 2020
The Pro Football Focus grading also smiles upon Wills and his stellar performance against the Bengals in Week 2,
Jedrick Wills Jr. vs Cincinnati
🔸Pass-block snaps: 24
🔸QB pressures: 1
🔸QB sacks: 0 pic.twitter.com/NqKeLGdYgh— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 18, 2020
Wills might not have been everyone’s first choice for the Browns pick at No. 10 overall, but he’s proving worthy.