Jedrick Wills: How the Browns rookie LT fared against Washington in Week 3

First-round pick Jedrick Wills has received plenty of praise over the first two weeks of his NFL career. The Browns rookie left tackle faced a big challenge in a talented Washington Football Team defensive front in Week 3.

Using the All-22 coach’s film, I rewatched the Browns victory and focused on Wills. I use a system that awards a plus for a clear win and a minus for a clear loss. Not every snap results in one or the other.

Here’s what I saw from Wills in Week 3:

The Browns threw Wills to the wolves right away. The very first play from scrimmage was a screen to his side that required him to down block at first and then peel out and pick off the LB as the primary blocker for TE Austin Hooper. Pressure on Baker Mayfield rushed the timing, but Wills still effectively created a crease for Hooper to gain positive yardage on a generally messy play.

Wills had a false start on each of the first two drives, facing Montez Sweat on the first and Ryan Anderson on the second. What impressed was that on the ensuing plays, he didn’t try to overcompensate for his mistakes as some rookies, or even veteran tackles, are prone to doing. Wills did his job, earning a plus in my grading book on each. He locked up Anderson for 4.7 seconds in pass protection after the second penalty (the Mayfield scramble to the right to find Beckham up the sideline) and did so without holding.

The matchups with Sweat were entertaining. Sweat has a signature move, a one-handed bull rush that’s very unusual and effective. Sweat got him with it once from a Wide-9 alignment on Cleveland’s second drive, a play that resulted in a Johnathan Allen sack thanks in part to Sweat’s pressure. Wills only lost three other reps to Sweat the rest of the game, adjusting his approach so that Sweat wasn’t striking with his incredible jab punch at full force. That’s veteran savvy from the rookie that I have to think was aided by coach Bill Callahan on the sidelines.

One of those losses came on a Sweat sack in the third quarter and it stands out because it was an example of Wills losing with technique. He quick-set to the outside and Sweat caught him with his weight on his inside foot, allowing Sweat to crash that inside shoulder and easily get past the rookie. It’s a cunning move by Sweat, a really good player, but Wills made it easier than it needed to be.

For the game, Wills wound up with 15 plusses and six minuses in my grading. Isolating the passing game, Wills was a net plus-6 (9 to 3). Considering the degree of difficulty in facing off primarily with an emerging star in Sweat, that’s a good game from Wills. Other than the one bad loss, Wills showed consistently strong technique and positional awareness. The power and the footwork are both in place for Wills to thrive as the Browns left tackle.