CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns rookie who will make the biggest impact on their 2020 season is someone you won’t notice if it’s going well -- and will notice too much if it’s not.
Jedrick Wills is the Browns’ most important rookie in 2020 and he is the rookie who will have the greatest impact of this team’s seven-man draft class.
This doesn’t mean Wills needs to be Joe Thomas. Expecting him to match Thomas, who walked on the field for his first game in 2007, didn’t leave for more than 10,000 snaps and will find himself enshrined in Canton as soon as possible, is insane levels of unfair.
Expecting him to be an effective starter on the left side, even with some growing pains -- especially given this wonky offseason -- is perfectly fair and looking forward to seeing steady growth from Week 1 to Week 17 is one of the storylines to put in pen heading into the season.
Wills is moving from the right to the left side as a pro. He manned the right tackle position for an Alabama offensive line ranked No. 4 in sack rate by Football Outsiders. He was ranked No. 3 among the tackles in this class by Pro Football Focus, who compared him to Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Wills his top tackle and pointed out Wills, working on the right side, protected quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s blindside.
Most draft profiles of Wills raved about his run blocking, leaving room to grow as a pass blocker. It’s also noted he’s susceptible to inside moves, which is where playing on the left side next to Joel Bitonio will only help.
The one hole the Browns left this offseason to fill in the draft was left tackle and they did it by selecting Wills at No. 10 overall, the player they said after they had at the top of their board.
Whether he’s successful or not, Wills will have the greatest impact of all the rookies in this Browns’ draft class. If he settles in as Baker Mayfield’s longterm blindside protector, he could change the course of the young quarterback’s career for a long time.
Two sleeper picks
Wills, of course, is the obvious answer, but I’ll add two sleepers here.
The first is tight end Harrison Bryant, the team’s fourth-round pick. Bryant will compete for time in Kevin Stefanski’s tight end-heavy offense and if he’s able to make the jump from Group of 5 competition to the NFL, there are opportunities to make plays. If David Njoku struggles, Bryant’s presence becomes even more important.
The other is defensive tackle Jordan Elliott. The Browns went pressure and Elliott showed he can provide it.
Elliott was Brugler’s sixth-rated defensive lineman and called him a “wrecking ball through gaps.”
PFF had Elliott as their third best interior defender in this year’s class and No. 23 player overall.
So, according to a few places, the Browns got a steal in Elliott. Considering the contract situations of Sheldon Richardson -- who gets expensive next season -- and Larry Ogunjobi, headed to free agency after 2020, Elliott’s true impact could ultimately be felt next year. This year, however, he’ll be in the rotation and if he can create pressure up the middle, he’ll get playing time early.
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