There has been no better left tackle this century than Joe Thomas. The Browns fixture has stayed close to Cleveland after his retirement while still offering insight in his various media roles.
So when Thomas offers praise for Browns rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills, it carries significant weight. And Thomas definitely likes what he’s seen in the first two weeks of the Wills era from the rookie from Alabama.
“For the most part, fans probably are going, ‘Jed who?’ ” Thomas said this week in an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal. “Because he really has done a great job of keeping his name out of everybody’s mouth, right? There’s not really been noticeable mistakes. He’s not getting beat consistently. He’s not having a bunch of penalties.”
Thomas is impressed with how natural Wills makes it look on the left side despite being a right tackle exclusively through high school and college.
“He looks like a veteran starter out there, and that’s a compliment to him, but also a compliment to the coaching staff to be able to bring him along as quickly as he has been. And I think the conversation, the questions and the skepticism about can he change from right tackle to left tackle, especially with a reduced or limited offseason, I think those have all been pretty much put to bed because he looks like a natural out there at left tackle.”
Thomas sees Sunday’s matchup against Washington as a great test for Wills. The Football Team pounded Eagles QB Carson Wentz for eight sacks in Week 1 and generated a lot of pressure on Cardinals QB Kyler Murray in Week 2. Led by No. 2 overall pick Chase Young, the Washington defensive front is loaded with talent.
“This will be a great measuring stick because we know that they’re probably better pass rushers than [the ones the Browns have] seen thus far in this season,” Thomas said. “To kind of measure top rookie pass rusher, top rookie offensive tackle, for an O-line nerd like myself, this is going to be a fun game to watch.”
Wills and the Browns face off against Washington on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at FirstEnergy Stadium