CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Jedrick Willis probably was not surprised when Andrew Berry called him to make him a Cleveland Brown.
Former Browns left tackle and future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas may have inadvertently tipped Berry’s hand.
“He had hit me up on Twitter and told me he had a talk with Andrew Berry,” Wills said. “He told me he really likes my game, and just now he gave me his number and was like, ‘Call me sometime if you ever need any pointers.’ He knew I was going to be playing left tackle, so if I ever needed pointers, tips or videos and things like that, he’d be there to help me out.”
It is an offer Wills plans to take Thomas up on too.
After the pick was announced, Thomas, who was participating in the league’s Draft-a-thon COVID-19 relief fundraiser, jumped on Twitter and tweeted, “Happy Happy!” after tweeting on Sunday glowingly about Wills’ potential.
“Wills Pros; change of direction, ability to create power, ability to stop power quickly, mobility, technique is clearly the best in the draft, size,” Thomas tweeted. “Cons; if you watch a lot of his tape, he has had some mental lapses with penalties and getting lulled to sleep by lesser opponents.
“Overall, he’s the guy who is the most NFL ready, and would clearly be the #1 guy if the ceiling for Becton wasn’t so high. I see him as the most sure-fire offensive lineman in this draft. His movement skills and suddenness is impressive for a college player.”
Wills already spoke with his new quarterback, Baker Mayfield, too.
“He hit me up as soon as I got drafted. He shot me a text and gave me his info,” Wills said. “He just let me know that he was going to be there for me and if I needed anything to reach out.”
Mayfield has to be thrilled with the additions of Wills and Jack Conklin after being sacked 65 times in 30 games with 40 of those sacks coming last season.
“He plays with great determination and I do the same exact thing,” Wills said. “I know he’s a great quarterback, somebody that’s driving to put a team in a great position to be like a championship team. With us together, I feel like it’s only going to make us better.”
Offensive line coach Bill Callahan will be tasked with helping to convert Wills into a left tackle after he spent three seasons on the right side. Callahan did the same in 2012 with Tyron Smith and the Cowboys.
While head coach Kevin Stefanski will lean on Callahan to convert Wills, he made it no secret how thrilled he is to get another assist from the Browns’ former No. 3 overall pick and 10-time Pro Bowler too.
“I will make sure Joe and Jedrick talk if they haven’t already,” Stefanski said. “I think we are uniquely positioned to have a guy like Joe who can be there and explain to any of our young players but particularly an offensive lineman the what to do, what not to do type of thing. Certainly, we will get those guys linked up.”
Thomas was not the only one to give the organization a thumbs up on Wills.
Linebacker Mack Wilson, a former teammate of Wills also sung the lineman’s praises.
“We get in the habit of speaking with former teammates on a number of prospects that we consider into the weekend, and when I was asking Mack about the Alabama guys and we got to Jed, Mack paused and goes, ‘Man, Jed is a baller,’” Berry said. “It is a very simple phrase, but it is something certainly we agreed with and we are excited to have him in the organization.”
Wills is the fourth player from Alabama picked by the Browns in the first round joining running back Trent Richardson (2012), cornerback Antonio Langham (1994) and Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome (1978).
Wills figures to be the final piece of the offensive puzzle.
“I am very excited. I know those guys want the same exact thing I do,” Wills said. “It is going to do nothing but make us stronger if we all have the same goal in mind, which is to win. I am going to do everything I can to put us in that position.”
