By Charlie Campbell.
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This page was last updated March 16, 2020. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.
Offensive Tackle Class
Early-round talent: A+
Mid-round: B+
Late-round: B+
Overall grade: A
2020 prospects vs 2019
Andrew Thomas
Mekhi Becton
Jedrick Wills
Tristan Wirfs
Jonah Williams
Andre Dillard
Austin Jackson
Prince Tega Wanogho
Tytus Howard
Kaleb McGary
Jawaan Taylor
Greg Little
Isaiah Wilson
Cody Ford
Dalton Risner
Trey Adams
After a few down years, the offensive tackle group rebounded some in 2019, but there were some selections in the first couple of rounds by particular teams that deviated from the scouting consensus. For example, a number of teams did not feel Jonah Williams was worthy of going as high as he did, and the same thing was felt about Tytus Howard and Kaleb McGary. Thus when you merge these two classes together, it makes for a unique order where better players will get drafted lower than where some prospects from last year were selected.
If you were to merge the two classes, the top four offensive linemen are all better prospects than Jonah Williams was last year. Austin Jackson and Prince Tega Wanogho are not as good of a prospect as Andre Dillard, but they are close. They are better than Tytus Howard and Kaleb McGary even though that pair could end up having gone higher than where Jackson and Wanogho are selected this year. Isaiah Wilson is on a par with Greg Little and Cody Ford as an early second-round pick. Trey Adams would be rated higher if it weren’t for the medical and durability concerns.
Safest Pick: Andrew Thomas, Georgia
Previous Picks:
2019: Cody Ford
2018: Mike McGlinchey
2017: Garett Bolles
2016: Larmey Tunsil
2015: Ereck Flowers
2014: Jake Matthews
2013: Luke Joeckel
My track record here is mixed. Bolles has had a mixed start to his career and is in a critical year. Tunsil has had good seasons to start his career and is a Pro Bowler. Flowers had a nice start in 2015, but had a highly criticized 2016 and 2017 seasons at left tackle before getting cut last year. He’s a better fit for guard or right tackle in the NFL. Matthews has turned into a good left tackle for Atlanta, and I was wise to pick him over Greg Robinson, who went second-overall and became a huge bust for the Rams. I was wrong about Joeckel, who was a giant bust for the Jaguars.
I think Thomas is a very safe pick to develop into a good NFL starter at left tackle. Over three seasons as a starter in the SEC, he only allowed five sacks, and he was rock solid at protecting Jake Fromm’s blind side the past two seasons. Thomas also is a plus run blocker and has developed technique with a good skill set. He didn’t have the glitzy workouts of Tristan Wirfs or Mekhi Becton, but in college, he was the best player. I think Thomas is one of the safer picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Biggest Bust Potential: Ezra Cleveland, Boise State
Previous Picks:
2019: David Edwards
2018: Connor Williams
2017: Roderick Johnson
2016: Shon Coleman
2015: La’el Collins
2014: Cyrus Kouandjio
2013: D.J. Fluker
My track record here is pretty good. No judgement can be rendered on Edwards at this early point in his career. Connor Williams has struggled, but obviously, he still has time to turn it around. Johnson went in the fifth round, which means he isn’t much of a bust. Fluker didn’t work out for the Chargers and was cut before his rookie contract expired. Kouandjio was a disappointment for the Bills and didn’t work out. Coleman was another busted pick of the Browns. Collins has proven to be a solid starter.
Ezra Cleveland could be a second-day pick in the 2020 NFL Draft based off his excellent combine performance. However, there are a lot of teams that have him graded on Day 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft. While he’s fast, he lacks strength, and I think he could get pushed around in the NFL. Cleveland could get overdrafted because of his speed and pushed onto the field before he’s ready.
Offensive Tackles Rankings by Attributes
Pass Protection:
NFL prototype: Terron Armstead, Saints
- Andrew Thomas
- Jedrick Wills
- Mekhi Becton
- Prince Tega Wanogho
- Tristan Wirfs
- Austin Jackson
- Trey Adams
- Isaiah Wilson
Recap: Franchise left tackles have to be rock solid in pass protection. Most teams feature a right-handed quarterback, so the left tackle has to be trusted to shut down pass-rushers coming from the blind side. Terron Armstead is the top offensive tackle in the NFL and is the current gold standard for a franchise left tackle.
In my opinion, Thomas is the best pure pass protector in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has quick feet with a good build and athleticism on the edge. Thomas can play the typewriter with his feet to cut off the edge from speed rushers. With good hand placement and technique, Thomas is a well-developed pass protector who sustains his blocks and prevents a successful second effort from defenders. Thomas plays with good leverage and knee bend on most plays, and that allows him to hold his ground against bull rushes. Thomas also is very disciplined and steady from play to play or game to game.
Wills is very gifted as a pass blocker, combining excellent athleticism with quickness and agility. With his quick feet, Wills is easily able to get depth in his drop to take away the edge from speed rushers. He plays with very good leverage to stop bull rushes and has a textbook ability to bend at the knee. You never see Wills being at the waist, and he does a superb job of handling a variety of pass-rushing moves. Wills has some areas he can stand to improve. He can be late seeing blitzs on the edge, so getting his vision in check is necessary. Sometimes Wills can overextend, and he also needs to improve his ability to defend inside moves, including counters, spins and games.
Defenders have a very difficult time getting pressures versus Becton. His sheer size makes him very difficult for edge rushers to get around because he eats up so much space, and with his length, they have to take extra steps to get around him, which leads to his quarterback having more time to get the ball out. On top of his overwhelming size and length, Becton is freakishly quick and athletic on the edge. He has excellent lateral quickness and agility for such a massive blocker. With his ability to play the typewriter with his feet and get depth in his drop, Becton is very adept at neutralizing speed rushers. Becton’s size and weight also shut down bull rushes as defenders struggle to get backward movement against him.
As a pass blocker, Wanogho has all the tools needed to be a shutdown left tackle. He has quick feet with serious athleticism and agility to block on the edge. Given his speed and athlete ability, Wanogho is easily able to mirror speed rushers and keep them from getting around the corner. He is quick out of his stance, and his size makes him tough to run around. With his natural power and a strong base, Wanogho stands up bull rushers with the ability to keep them from getting a push. Wanogho also uses that strength to tie up rushers and sustain blocks, so second efforts aren’t effective against him. Wanogho has the upside and ability to be a shutdown pass protector for the NFL.
Wirfs sets up pretty well as a pass blocker, but he definitely has some issues to clean up in pass protection for taking on NFL edge rushers. For one, Wirfs has an inclination to bend at the waist at times. While he is quick out of his stance, he needs to get more depth in his kick slide to avoid reaching after speed rushers coming around the corner. Wirfs also needs to get better at counter moves to the inside and not getting caught by surprise by bull rushes. Because of these issues, some felt that Wirfs should be a right tackle or guard in the NFL even though he has the physical talent to play left tackle.
Jackson has very quick feet and natural athleticism tha allows him to get depth in his drop and neutralize speed rushers. He should be an asset to take on the fast edge rushers, as he can get off the corner and prevent them from running the loop around the edge. With his quick feet and ability to bend at the knee, Jackson doesn’t have to reach after rushers and is not a waist bender. He is light on his feet and does a nice job of mirroring them around the corner to keep them from putting heat on the quarterback. There were a few plays on which Jackson allowed speed rushers to get upfield from setting up too far to the outside or inside. Thus he will need to work on that. There are a lot of raw elements of Jackson’s game for him to improve, including his hand placement, set up, and balance. Sometimes last season, he would get away with some mistakes because he is so athletic and can compensate for it, but in the NFL, it will be harder for him to get away with that. Proof of that was provided in the bowl game against Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa.
As a pass blocker, Adams has quality feet and length to neutralize speed rushes with an impressive ability to get depth in his drop. He does a nice job of keeping his feet moving and is able to play the typewriter while gliding with edge rushers. Many tall tackles struggle to bend at the knee, but Adams shows some ability there. He doesn’t get caught in concrete all that often and does a nice job of moving with defenders so he doesn’t have to reach after them coming around the corner. Adams also has enough strength and size to stonewall bull rushers and hold his ground. He was streaky as a senior, so improving his consistency is necessary.
For pass blocking, Wilson has excellent size on the edge and length that make him difficult for pass-rushers to run around. On top of mismatch size, Wilson has surprising foot quickness and athleticism to get get depth in his drop. He is able to head off speed rushers and has the strength to stop bull rushes. There are plays on which Wilson looks phenomenal in pass protection and then other times at which he has problems with consistency.
Run Blocking:
NFL prototype: Joe Staley, 49ers
- Jedrick Wills
- Isaiah Wilson
- Tristan Wirfs
- Mekhi Becton
- Andrew Thomas
- Prince Tega Wanogho
- Trey Adams
- Austin Jackson
Recap: Every member of this group is solid in the ground game. Wills has some real nastiness to him. He blocks through the whistle and is very physical at the point of attack. With a bad attitude, Wills gets violent with defenders to push them around and challenge them to stay in their gaps. Wills is quick out of distance and fires to the second level. He is a smooth mover in space, so that combined with his drive-blocking ability makes him a great fit for either a zone-blocking or power-man scheme in the NFL.
In the ground game, there are plays where Wilson is a road grader who can absolutely defenders out of their gaps. He can get into the chest of defenders and ride them around. Wilson shows the power to bull them backward and finish them off with violence. He has the strength to push defenders around and maintain blocks. For a big blocker, Wilson is surprisingly quick to the second level and fires into space well. As a pro, Wilson should present a size mismatch and should be a real asset as a run blocker for his NFL offense.
Wirfs is a plus blocker who can generate movement at the point of attack. He plays with good leverage as a run blocker and sustains his blocks well. Wirfs stays light on his hand to get out quick as a puller. His athleticism and quickness to move is seen with him as a puller, and that is an asset he will bring to his NFL team. Using his natural strength, Wirfs ties up defenders and is adept at fighting them out of their gaps. There are too many times when Wirfs overextends and ends up on the ground, but he is a capable run blocker entering the next level.
Becton is effective in the ground game. He has a strong upper body and consistently uses that with his length to push defensive linemen out of their gaps. Becton has phenomenal lateral quickness, which is shocking for a player of his size, so he is very effective at getting away from the line to set up rush lanes in the perimeter. Becton can make blocks in space as he is fast in the short area with quickness to fire off the ball. He also keeps fighting and is adept at negating second efforts.
As a run blocker, Thomas is effective as well. He is quick to the second level and fires out of his stance. He gets into defenders quickly with no hesitation to get physical and tie them up. Thomas is strong to lock up defenders and sustain his blocks. He is not overwhelmingly powerful like Quenton Nelson or Brandon Scherff in college, but Thomas has the strength to manipulate and turn defenders in the ground game to open holes for backs. He has more strength than some other tackles who have gone in the first round recently, including 2019 prospects like Jonah Williams or Andre Dillard, and Thomas is a better run blocker at left tackle than many college tackles who enter the NFL these days coming from spread offenses that don’t play as much of a physical pro-style offense.
Wanogho is similar to Thomas, although not as consistent. Many college left tackles are finesse players, but Wanogho flashes a mean streak and will punish defenders. He has power in the upper body and is able to knock defenders off the ball to move them out of their gaps. With his upper and lower body strength, Wanogho can get a push as a run blocker and is more effective than typical left tackles. That being said, Wanogho turns it on at times and off at others. That inconsistent attitude, mean streak, and effort really hurt him with scouts.
Adams can get a push at the point of attack. His size overwhelms some defenders at the point of attack, and he is able to knock defenders back to open holes in their gaps. Adams’ speed and athletic ability can be seen as he is surprisingly quick to get out for blocks on perimeter runs. He has a burst to the second level and uses his agility to hit blocks in space. On screens, Adams is superb to get out from the tackle box while getting in position to hit blocks downfield.
In the ground game, Jackson fires out of his stance to engage edge rushers. He is quick to the second level and is able to pull well to hit blocks to the inside. If Jackson adds strength, that would make him a better run blocker, packing more punch at the point of attack.
Feet:
NFL prototype: Tyron Smith, Cowboys
- Austin Jackson
- Andrew Thomas
- Jedrick Wills
- Prince Tega Wanogho
- Mekhi Becton
- Tristan Wirfs
- Trey Adams
- Isaiah Wilson
Recap: The best feet in the 2020 NFL Draft could belong to Jackson. He is very light on his feet with the ability to play the typewriter and consistently get himself in to good position.
Thomas has quick feet and can pick them up and put them down in his backpedal or while firing out of his stance. Wills is a good athlete with quick feet and the ability to kick slide with speed rushers. He is very good at defending the edge from fast pass rushers. Wanogho has fast feet, balance, and gets depth in his kick slide.
For being such a massive blocker, Becton has really good feet and he keeps them moving well. His feet are exceptional given his size. Wirfs struggles with consistency, as there are times when he has good feet and other plays on which he struggles. That is part of why some say Wirfs should move to right tackle or guard.
Adams and Wilson have the potential for good feet, but both of them were inconsistent last season. They need work on improving their feet to win against pro pass-rushers consistently.
Zone-Blocking Scheme:
NFL prototype: Tyron Smith, Cowboys
- Jedrick Wills
- Tristan Wirfs
- Austin Jackson
- Prince Tega Wanogho
- Andrew Thomas
- Mekhi Becton
- Isaiah Wilson
- Trey Adams
Recap: All of these tackle prospects could execute in a zone-blocking system. They all have enough athletic ability and the speed to play it. Wills, Wirfs, Wanogho, Thomas and Becton are the best fits because they are quick while being mobile. Each one has displayed the ability to block on the move. Wilson and Adams could execute a zone scheme, but are probably better in a power-man scheme.
Man Scheme:
NFL prototype: Trent Williams, Redskins
- Mekhi Becton
- Tristan Wirfs
- Jedrick Wills
- Andrew Thomas
- Isaiah Wilson
- Prince Tega Wanogho
- Trey Adams
- Austin Jackson
Recap: The top four of Becton, Wirfs, Wills and Thomas are good fits for a man-blocking scheme. They sustain their blocks well in the ground game overall and are plus run blockers on the edge. Wilson has the potential to be a bulldozer and a true road grader in the ground game. He can truly ride defenders around the field, but he lacks consistency. Wanogho fits a man scheme with his ability lean on defenders, push them and generate movement.
Adams could play in a man scheme as well, but he is not as impressive as the top six at overpowering edge defenders. Jackson needs to add power and improve his strength for the NFL. He would be a better fit in a zone scheme.
Guard/Right Tackle Potential:
NFL prototype: Lane Johnson, Eagles
- Jedrick Wills
- Andrew Thomas
- Tristan Wirfs
- Isaiah Wilson
- Prince Tega Wanogho
- Mekhi Becton
- Trey Adams
- Austin Jackson
Recap: Some teams like to move college tackles inside to guard or to right tackle. Other roster considerations also cause some tackles to start their careers on the right side or in at guard. Having the versatility to be moved around and play a variety of positions adds a lot of value to an offensive lineman.
Wills has the skill set to play left tackle, right tackle, or guard. Thomas started out his collegiate career as a good right tackle before moving to the left side as a sophomore.
Wirfs has a versatile skill set. Some are projecting him to guard, others to right tackle, and some think he can be a left tackle. Wills and Wilson played right tackle in college. Wilson might end up being limited to right tackle or guard in the NFL.
Wanogho could play either tackle or guard. Becton could play either tackle position, but he could be too tall to kick inside to guard, where his height could obstruct passing lanes. Adams has a similar height concern, but he also could play either edge-blocking spot. Jackson may not have the strength to move inside to guard or play right tackle. That could change in time if he develops well in a pro strength and conditioning program.
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