So he’s been bad this year? Thought that wasn’t the case.
I was one of the highest people on Wills during the draft process.
I think his play this year has been less than the praise people have been heaping on him so far. That's not to say he's bad--but I've seen him as REALLY struggling with the flip from RT to LT in a way I didn't see coming. I usually write off a side flip like that as a non-factor, but Wills legitimately looks stiff to me at LT, whereas last year at Alabama, I thought his agility was his standout trait.
His feet are still lightning quick getting out of his stance, and he still knows what to do with his hands, so he's been effective. But we're talking about a kid who has the gifts to be the best tackle in football, and right now it looks like he's still trying to break muscle memory and train his body to be fluid at LT.
I've seen a lot of guys get by him--which is probably only noticeable because we're used to Joe Thomas, arguably the greatest pass protecting tackle in the history of football, manning that position. On the bright side, I can't remember a straight whiff from Wills, but on the downside, there have been lots of times where he's been beaten pretty quickly. On these times where he's beaten, either Baker does something to negate the impact (get the ball out, or move) or Wills uses his athleticism to recover and sort of chip block the guy behind where Baker is standing.
The kid's great. He has the ability to be the best tackle in football. He's just having a rough first year making the switch from RT to LT. That's just my eye though.
