clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Browns sign first-round pick Jedrick Wills Jr.

Offensive tackle from Alabama will look to lock down the left tackle position.

By Thomas Moore
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 01 Camping World Kickoff - Alabama v Louisville Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Cleveland Browns signed offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. on Tuesday. He is the fifth player of the team’s seven-person draft class to be signed.

Taken in the first round at No. 10 overall, Wills’ contract will be worth a little more than $19.7 million over four years, with a fifth-year option, and an $11.8 million signing bonus, according to OverTheCap’s pre-determined draft chart. His cap hit in 2020 will be a bit more than $3.58 million.

Wills, who is 6-foot-4 and 312 pounds, will be making the transition from right tackle, where he played at Alabama, to the left side with the Browns. He, along with right tackle Jack Conklin, is expected to help lock down one of the most troublesome positions on the Browns from last season.

Wills started 29 games for the Crimson Tide and allowed just one sack last season. He was a key member of an Alabama offensive line that gave up just 12 sacks in 406 pass attempts in 2019, and had a rushing attack that averaged 5.5 yards per carry while gaining 1,665 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns, according to clevelandbrowns.com.

While they have not yet been on the field together, veteran left guard Joel Bitonio has been impressed by what he has heard from Wills during video meetings, Bitonio told the team’s website in June:

“(Jedrick is) just a hard-working guy that loves to play the game of football and he is going to try to do everything possible to put us in the best position to win. “That’s really all you can ask from a rookie. We have had these Zoom conference calls with him, and so far, he’s been in tune to those. You do not get as much interaction or on-field interaction as you would in a normal offseason, but from those, he’s been dialed in.”

With Wills under contract, the Browns have signed five of their seven selections in the 2020 NFL Draft. He joins defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (third round), tight end Harrison Bryant (fourth round), center Nick Harris (fifth round) and wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (sixth round).

More From Dawgs By Nature