Assessing Redskins first-round options: Alabama OT Jedrick Wills
By Ian Cummings
Scouting Jedrick Wills
Jedrick Wills has been a steady riser since 2018, but his stock didn’t officially take off until this season. Now, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle is firmly in the Round 1 conversation, and some scouts think he can be the best blindside blocker from the 2020 class.
Wills has the size. He has the pedigree. And at this point, he has the prestige. But does Wills pass the tape test? When scrutinizing the finer points of his game, does a first-round tackle emerge? Or are some aspects of his game being overblown? I’ve broken his game down into pass blocking notes and run blocking notes to prepare this analysis. You know the routine. Let’s dive in.
Pass Protection – Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- First step is brisk and precise, no false movements to lose ground
- Knows how to cadence violent hand strikes to minimize outside rushes
- Has strong grip strength to hold the opponent in place
- In neutral alignment situations, his power wins with reliability
- Has the length to route rushers around the perimeter if they win initially
- Generally has ample thirst for contact, the trademark mauler gene
- Not at all phased by blitzes
- Hands are fast, heavy, and urgent, and yet, controlled and precise
- Foot speed in pass protection is proficient, despite stiffness
- Has the strength and stamina to win wars of attrition when plays take more time
- Has a technician’s depth with hand placement; improvement from 2018 indicates uptrend
- Has a quick twitch to his upper body movement and always stays locked in
- Capitalizes on rushers going low, sends them to the ground with leverage
- Plays with an attitude, relishes in the added challenge with each snap
- Has a thick, dominating frame, which he uses to render smaller players inert
- Solid consistency when executing combo blocks in rhythm
- Establishes an anchor with ease with strength and wingspan, has good base in situ
Weaknesses
- Some stiffness when shuffling out across the edge, but often gets where he needs to go
- More athletic edge defenders can bounce around his initial block if not neutralized
- Players with good length and short-area explosiveness may be a problem for Wills
- Can sit and strike too early at times, allowing rushers to gain ground to the outside
- Played right tackle exclusively; capacity for switch to left tackle is unknown
- Can occasionally lack aggressiveness in giving team mates help
- Two-on-one situations can cause him to instinctively backpedal, losing leverage
- More athletic interior linemen who can match his power present mismatches
- Can be too aggressive with initial punch and leap from his position
- Angles are inconsistent when blocking in front of screens, due to short-range limitations
Pass Protection Summary
Wills’ pass blocking is superb, especially considering he’s not yet 21 years old. Wills’ punch strength and grip strength both stand out right away; every game, he’s one of the most powerful players on the field, and his ability to set anchors and use his thick, dominating frame was very much on display.
Wills’ technical depth to this point is also very promising. He showed marketable improvement from 2018 to 2019 in that regard, indicating that he’s an ascending prospect heading into the NFL. Wills has a quick twitch with his upper body motion, and his hands are violent, fast, and heavy, but also controlled and calculated. His feet are similarly proficient. There’s little wasted movement with Wills, and the result is an imposing type of efficiency.
There are some questions with Wills after watching his pass protection, however, but most of these are minor. He does display some movement stiffness when sliding out across the edge. The Draft Network’s Joe Marino worded it well, saying that “[Wills’] foot speed is outstanding for his size but he wins more with technique than springy footwork”. Wills has good athleticism, but he’s limited in some respects laterally, which could give the edge to more athletic, lengthy edge defenders in the NFL. He generally gets where he needs to go, but can he do the same a level up?
There’s also the issue of whether Wills can translate to left tackle, as he played right tackle exclusively at Alabama. Wills has the relentless power, intricate smoothness, and motor to suggest he can, but there are some complications with that kind of switch. Some movements are mirrored, and angles are different. After playing right tackle for his entire career with the Rolling Tide, there would undoubtedly be a learning curve at least, were Wills to switch at the next level.
Run Blocking – Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- Crazy powerful at the point of attack, likely one of the draft’s strongest linemen
- Has long levers for arms, creates separation and clears space with ease
- Good leg churn moving from the first to second level
- Has enough functional athleticism to take on moving blocks upfield
- Hand strikes are observably powerful; he rattles guys up front
- Does well with fluctuating angles as runner shifts behind him
- With space to accelerate, he can escort defenders upfield like a bouncer
- Does a good job blocking off defenders with long arm once he has position
- Excellent at re-routing defenders as the play progresses
- Always looks for work, sustains movement as he does so
- Shows occasional flashes of exceptional explosive athleticism off the line
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t have the lateral agility to correct himself quickly after losing balance
- Some minor inconsistency with blocking angles when turning upfield
- Foot speed can be a bit slower than ideal when engaging defenders
- Pad level can be a bit too high at times, mitigating length benefits
Run Blocking Summary
The passing game is less flashy for offensive linemen, so while Wills’ traits are evident there to the observant spectator, the running game is where Wills really shines.
Wills’ power at the point of attack is even more evident here; he has long levers for arms, which he uses to create separation and clear space with ease. His athletic ceiling is better quantified in this department, where he shows more than enough functional athleticism to run upfield and adjust to the play’s constantly fluctuating angles.
With a clear field, Wills accelerates with ease, and once he gets his hands on a player, he can dispose of them like a plow cruising through snow. He’s a people mover in every sense of the word, and in the trenches, where being the strongest man is always a good thing, Wills has a very good foundation.
There are some minor inconsistencies with Wills’ run blocking. He doesn’t have the lateral agility to correct himself in certain situations, and this can also impede his ability to capitalize on angles in a timely manner. He can also iron out fluctuations with his pad level and foot speed, but overall, Wills has the building-block traits to be an excellent run blocker at the next level.
Jedrick Wills Overview
Wills checks a lot of boxes as an offensive tackle. He’s young, he’s big and wide, he’s insanely powerful, and he has enough functional athleticism to succeed at the next level. He’s also displayed a gradual mastery of the game’s finer technical details, and at such a young age, this bodes well for him down the road. That said, there are some questions to be answered, both pertaining to Wills’ athletic constraints, as well as his translatability to left tackle. Will his minor lateral stiffness present enough of a weakness for NFL edge rushers to exploit? Or will his more prevalent strengths, such as length, power, and proactive aggression, allow him to succeed regardless of the side he guards? Go ahead and see for yourself with the tape.