The Cleveland Browns wound up bereft of multiple first-round picks in the NFL Draft earlier in the decade after their ill-fated trade for Deshaun Watson. Unfortunately, one of those that they did make turned out to be a failure.
With a long line of draft busts over their history, particularly at quarterback, the Browns also came up short at other positions. This can be seen in the initial pick general manager Andrew Berry made after joining the franchise six years ago.
CBS Sports has named former Browns first-round pick Jedrick Wills Jr. among the “most disappointing” choices since 2020, ranking the offensive tackle at No. 147 overall.
“The Browns didn’t have a first-rounder from 2022-24, which made life difficult for GM Andrew Berry, especially with his first two first-rounders being misses. The Jedrick Wills pick is particularly haunting given that the best left tackle in the NFL, Tristan Wirfs, was still on the board,” Mike Renner wrote.
The Browns had just three first-round picks out of the 191 total in the time period that was analyzed. Mason Graham, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, was their best-rated selection at No. 98, with cornerback Greg Newsome II, the No. 26 overall choice in the 2021 draft, coming in at No. 122 in the rankings.
Wills was seen as a potential top-five pick heading into the 2020 draft. Taken at No. 10 overall by the Browns, the risk was that he played right tackle at Alabama to protect left-handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s blind side, and he would be asked to move to the left side in the NFL.
That may be a red flag to current Browns fans, as the team will try to conduct the same switch this season with tackle Spencer Fano, who was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Hopefully, he will fare better than Wills did over his 57 career games.
He did manage to start all 17 games in the 2022 season, but a knee injury suffered in November 2023 ended his season after eight games, and he has not been the same since. Dealing with complications, he played in just five games in 2024, lowlighted by his “business decision” to sit out a game, and he missed all of last season after a corrective procedure on his leg.
Wills signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears this offseason, looking to get his career back on track.
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