While Taylor Decker is returning for another season with the Detroit Lions at left tackle, that doesn't mean that the team should stop searching for help at the position.
Decker, who will be 33 years old at the start of the season, needs actual insurance behind him. He suffered through a few injuries last year, namely a shoulder problem which led to an obvious drop-off in his pass-blocking and run-blocking capabilities.
Detroit does have a backup left tackle behind Decker on the roster, though: Giovanni Manu. The former 4th round pick by the Lions has been very slowly developing behind the scenes, but doesn't sound ready to properly back Decker up this season, let alone to start.
That makes a recent report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz that the Lions have met with Cleveland Browns tackle Jedrick Wills make a ton of sense.
Lions reportedly met with struggling Browns tackle ahead of free agency
Wills, a former top-10 pick by the Browns, has struggled to stay on the field. He spent the entirety of the 2025 season not playing, recovering from a knee injury that had been bothering him throughout 2024 and keeping him unavailable for most of that year. Cleveland's offensive line has been a rotating door the last few years, but it doesn't seem like they're trying to keep Wills on board, regardless.
While he offers another look for the Lions and Hank Fraley at LT2, it doesn't mean he's a better option than Manu. He posted an overall PFF grade of 52.9 back in 2024, with a 51.6 run-blocking grade and a 63.6 pass-blocking grade.
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Even when healthy, he hasn't proven to be very effective as a tackle. It makes this meeting even more of a head-scratcher, but it does make sense in the context of Manu just not being ready to take over in any capacity.
Detroit is also looking down a market that's bare for cheap options at tackle in free agency. Rasheed Walker, Jermaine Eleumunor, and Braden Smith are all likely to get bags because of how thin the market is at starting left tackle talent this year. That leaves the Lions with a few options: spend small, trade for a tackle, or hope to draft a good successor.
Wills represents that first option, and leaves the Lions the ability to still look for a successor in the draft. All of these options communicate one clear thing on Manu, though: he is not seen as the future left tackle for Detroit.