ClutchPoints
With 2025 NFL free agency rapidly approaching, it’s safe to assume one player who will not be back with the Cleveland Browns is Jedrick Wills, the former first-round tackle out of Alabama who never seemed to live up to his draft position.
Now granted, part of why Wills won’t be back is because the Browns are in a horrible spot financially, with millions needed to even become cap complement, let alone to make big free agent additions to their roster, but Wills’ play has hardly justified an extensive look either. Despite his pedigree, Wills struggled to protect his quarterback’s blindside for years, whomever that ma, and was ultimately benched for 2023 fourth-round pick Dawand Jones in November as a result.
And yet, in the opinion of Sam Monson of Check the Mic, Wills shouldn’t be written off as an NFL prospect just yet, as he believes he could be a really good reclamation project if moved to the right side.
“What about a reclamation project at right tackle? Usually, guys come out in the NFL Draft, and they are left or right tackles, and a lot of the times, the NFL is immediately moving them to the other side because this is where the space is, this is where you’re gonna play, and rarely do you see guys who move later in their careers and generally I think it’s a good idea,” Monson noted.
“But Jedrick Wills was a college right tackle who was immediately moved to left tackle by the Browns and has been pretty bad for the majority of his career, to the point where they are moving on from him. He’s gotten worse throughout his career and has yet to play a single snap at right tackle. I don’t know if that’s the reason, I don’t know if that will fix him, but if I’m an NFL team with a right tackle problem, I’d be interested in finding out if Jedrick Wills, who is only like 26, and let’s find out if he plays better at right tackle than left tackle.”
Steve Palazzolo, Monson’s co-host, joined in on the conversation, too, noting that the Eagles had the same success signing Mekhi Becton as a reclamation project, especially after moving him to a more appropriate position for immediate success.
“I thought that was the way you were going to go. By the way, in that very same draft class, Mekhi Becton was drafted at 11,” Palazzolo said. “He was just signed by the Eagles for pennies on the dollar at right guard, and that paid dividends for them. They basically stole a starter who was good for their Super Bowl run. I kind of like that.”
Could Wells join a team with a really good offensive line and become a top-end right tackle? Or could he even pull a true Becton and become the Eagles’ next right guard? While that feels rather unlikely, who knows? With his NFL future very much up in the air, maybe Wills could...
