2020 NFL Draft Offensive Tackle Tiers

[Deputy Nutz]

2020 NFL Draft Offensive Tackle Tiers
Offensive tackle is deep, that is if you consider the first two tiers. There are a lot of projects in this group with really high ceilings, but not necessarily terms of ability and skill to play right away.

Tier One - These are all top twenty guys in the 2020 draft, all should be automatic day one starters at left or right tackle. They all offer versatility and high level athleticism. If a team wants a ten year anchor on their offensive line these are the guys you want to draft.

Tristan Wirfs Iowa 6’5” 320 - Feet, balance, power, and smarts. He has it all. His only drawback is that he is a right tackle and not a left tackle, but he could easily be a swing tackle because of his athleticism. Wirfs comes to balance so well, and regains his footing as quickly as I have ever seen. Understands his duties in pass pro, and edge rushers better not allow him to lock on because they are finished if he does, but it really doesn’t matter because he wins with his feet anyway. Run blocking is all about feet and the ability to square up and cut off and he is as good as anyone in run blocking. Wirfs should have success in any run scheme.

Jedrick Wills Alabama 6’4” 312 - He is built with a lot of upper torso mass. Pretty athletic at right tackle because just looking at him you would think he is a guard. He is good at all the same things I said about Wirfs, but not as polished and just a hair less athletic than Wirfs. He gives up a little too much ground in pass pro, he doesn’t settle until contact is made with rusher. This squeezes the QB and gives little time to adjust.Wills will probably do well in a gap power scheme in the NFL but could hold his own in a zone heavy scheme. Wills makes little mistakes when he loses focus, jumps offsides, or doesn’t get off at the snap. Speed rushers at the next level could give him problems. Wills played right tackle for a left handed QB at Alabama.

Andrew Thomas Georgia 6’5” 315 - Absolutely love his arms and feet. His arms are real long at 36.5” and he gets a great extension and punch. His footwork in the run game is darn good and gets his massive frame in the right spot, and his feet don’t stop moving which with his hand punch gives him an immense amount of power. Thomas will dominant in a gap scheme, but has the footwork and reach to play just as well in a zone scheme. In pass pro his natural ability and reach save him from a very stiff lower half. Thomas needs to work on flexibility and bend because he plays very tall and will bend at the waist to get extension in pass pro. Fast edge rushers will give him fits with outside to inside moves.

Mekhi Becton Louisville 6’7” 367 - Biggest of the top tier guys by long margin, and he uses his size and strength to his advantage. Not as technical as the guys above, but he wins on his first step, lateral movement, and ridiculous punching power and extension. He is a pusher, shover, and thrower. He will literally throw edge rushers past him and even to the ground with one arm. Becton is a fantastic athlete, but he needs to be refined a bit so that he can handle pro level offensive schemes. Louisville’s offense didn’t ask him to do a whole lot in the run game, passing game was based on a lot of mixed run pass combos. Becton has the highest ceiling of the first tier guys

[Deputy Nutz]

Tier 2 - These Lineman could be plugged in as starters for the 2020 season, but they will need more work to get ready than the tier one linemen. High ceilings with some of these guys as well, but there is definitely a drop off between tier one and tier two.

Josh Jones Houston 6’7” 312 - Jones is a fluid athlete who at times plays a little high, but scouts all have their eyes on Jones. After the top four guys are gone it will be interesting to see how many picks go by before a team selects Jones. Certainly not as polished as the tier one guys, but he has the ability to close the distance within a season or two in the NFL. He needs to get stronger and needs more experience, sometimes he moves to the second level and doesn’t put himself in position to block anyone. His feet and pass set are probably his best asset right now, but needs to get stronger and work on quicker hands. Film got better from early in the year to later games, so he shows the ability of continued growth.

Prince Tega Wanogho Auburn 6’5” 308 - Long and lean frame that has room to add 20 pounds of muscle which should help improve his power run blocking, right now is his biggest weakness. He probably has the best film of working to the second level and engaging linebackers in Auburn’s zone scheme. He has really quick feet, and his pass set is quick and efficient. I would like to see him get his hands engaged quicker but he has the ability to improve that. It would be unfair to call him raw, but he is relatively inexperienced as he started playing football late in high school. Truth be told I think he might have the highest ceiling of any tackle in this draft.

Lucas Niang Texas Christian 6’6” 315 - Showed up for the combine in better shape than what he played at in the 2019 season with good reason. Prior to the 2019 season he had to have hip surgery for a labrum tear which had to hinder his mobility and flexibility as he looked stiff on film and had to cheat in pass pro by opening up his hips quicker than usual. More of a mauler and a battler than fluid. If he continues to work on rehabbing his lower half, and gaining some more flexibility to regain his athleticism from 2018 he could be a viable starter in 2020. Niang is a right tackle only, possible guard.

Austin Jackson USC 6’5” 322 - Not as physically gifted as some on this list but know how to use his body to create a wall. He is certainly athletic enough to play tackle in the NFL. Against Iowa, he relatively held his own against Epenesa but did get beat by better athleticism off the edge a couple of times. When he is strict with his technique he keeps his chest up and his hips centered he stalls out the edge rushers almost immediately, when his technique falters he will bend at the waist and lunge at the defender to push him off their path. His feet don’t drive as well as others but he manages to stay on his blocks long enough in the run game. Jackson hasn’t maximized his abilities yet, but his ceiling might not be as high as others on this list.

[Deputy Nutz]

Tier 3 - You might find a starter in this group for 2020, but I wouldn’t know who specifically. These guys will have some work to do to see the field before 2021. There is talent in this group, potential high level starting NFL caliber talent, but certainly the chances of success goes down the later in the draft you get.

Matthew Peart UConn 6’7” 318 - Big frame, long arms, and athletic. This guy is a raw talent that needs to improve his functional strength on the football field, weight room strength can be added but it has to transfer to the football field. There is a lot to work with, because he has good flexibility and hips along with pretty decent feet you can tell that he was a basketball player first. From Jamaica so he didn’t grow up around the game of football. Honestly Peart looks like and moves like a tight end, he does a really nice job at pulling in UConn’s counter game, he does a nice job of reaching the second level. He can be tricked in blitz pick up with a stunting front.

Isaiah Wilson Georgia 6’6” 350- He is a mauler in the run game, when he locks on the defender is going to put anywhere Wilson wants to put him. He generates a lot of momentum going forward he is almost impossible to stop. His issues are in pass pro, his feet are not as good as others on this list and he struggles with lateral movement. He can actually be a better athlete by losing a few pounds and working on his footwork and lateral movement. I wouldn’t call him lazy but he has room to improve, and if he does so he could be a solid right tackle in the NFL.

Ben Bartch St John’s MN 6’6” 309 - Bartch is a division 3 prospect that made a name for himself at the Senior Bowl where he held his own against top seniors from bigger schools. Bartch has a couple of hurdles to overcome, one of those facing lesser competition for four years at the division 3 level. The other is relatively short arms at 32”. Allows too much depth on his pass set and doesn’t stonewall at contact as rushers are able to continually back him up. Some of this could be by design as St. John’s is spread offenses with a quick passing scheme. Polished pass rushers are going to give him fits in the beginning of his professional career. He has good balance and has good spacing with his feet. He needs a better hand punch and anchor.

Jack Driscol Auburn 6’5” 305 -Underrated alert!!!! Driscol needs to add muscle and weight, I think that is obvious, but the guy is a 4 year starter, graduate transfer to Auburn for his final two season has a good lateral mobility with the speed to work to the second level on zone blocking schemes. Even though he is relatively light in the lower half his anchor is decent and will only get better. His arms aren’t the longest on this list at 33” but they are not the shortest, he will have to be quicker and more accurate with his hand punch and extension. The biggest thing is he doesn’t over extend himself and keeps his weight over his knees.

Ezra Cleveland Boise St. 6’6” 311 - Needs a better anchor in pass protection and more horsepower on his drive blocks. Regardless he is good linear athlete with a strong upper body and he has the ability to improve his lower body strength which should help his drive blocking technique. Cleveland does a nice job working to the second level and making the right read on combo blocks. His athleticism and play could easily improve from 2019 film due to playing with a tough turf toe injury for most the season.

[Deputy Nutz]

Tier four - There could be a dark horse or two in this tier that could make an impact in 2020. These guys could be more developmental projects that could be drafted late on day two, but most likely will have to wait until day 3 to get their name called.

Saahdiq Charles 6’4” 321 - Balance is a big issue with him along with overall play strength. LSU asked him and the rest of the line to block man on man as they received little help from backs and tight ends so as a left tackle he was left on an island for the most part. He doesn’t do anything significantly well, or poorly for that matter. He has decent lateral movement and overall athleticism, but it's also like there is a delay there between his mind and body. Discipline issues have also arises with Charles as he was suspended for 6 games last season.

Hakeem Adeniji Kansas 6’4” 302 - This guy is a worker, he isn’t going to give a team a lot of “look out” blocks as even when he gets beat he will continue and look to recover. In fact he will struggle with his anchor and leverage, but he does such a good job at re-leveraging his block that you hardly notice. He will have to work on his pass kick as he gets too flat, not a big deal as it is correctable. Skinny lower half that can improve with dynamic strength training in the off season. He works well as a positional blocker, zone schemes will work well for him, but drive blocking will be a struggle for him if he doesn’t get stronger and increase his flexibility in his lower half. He needs to drop his pad level.

Trey Adams Washington 6’8” 318 - Probably had the highest upside in 2016 but suffered several injuries that set his career back. Knee injuries and back injuries in back to back season has limited his ceiling and improvement. In 2018 his flexibility and bend is significantly hindered due to stiffness in his hips and back. He lost some weight in 2019 which has helped him with his lateral quickness and pass set. For someone that is 6’8” he has really good pad level on his drive blocks. There are a couple of problems with someone so tall is the ability to but on mass in the lower half of the body and balance when changing direction

[texaspackerbacker]

Thanks for the research and posting. I wish you or somebody connected with the Packers had a crystal ball or whatever to determine which of these guys will show up in the NFL the way they did in college.

[Deputy Nutz]

Truly impossible to know, take Jason Spriggs for instance. Who would have guessed he would turned into a total turd

[Fritz]

Truly impossible to know, take Jason Spriggs for instance. Who would have guessed he would turned into a total turd

Wist says he knew.

[texaspackerbacker]

He was undersized, wasn't he? That should have been a red flag.

I think Thompson and maybe McCarthy preferred that kind of O Lineman over the road grader type. Now, we seem to be moving the other way - the right way IMO - with guys like Jenkins. I will be using these "tiers" that Nutz was good enough to provide more after the draft to see what we got than now. Just looking at the weights and descriptions, though, some stand out as possible Spriggs types.

[smuggler]

Not undersized in his frame. Just kind of lean. But that's how Bahktiari was at first, too. Bakhtiari developed some power to go with his phone-booth movement skills. Spriggs can tapdance for a big guy, but that's about it. No horsepower.

[texaspackerbacker]

I never liked Bakhtiari much either, not like some people do. And now he has a bad back ....... a consequence of bulking up?

Get some road graders - guys with horse power because they are horses.

[ThunderDan]

I never liked Bakhtiari much either, not like some people do. And now he has a bad back ....... a consequence of bulking up?

Get some road graders - guys with horse power because they are horses.

And watch Von Miller tattoo your QB over and over.

[wist43]

Truly impossible to know, take Jason Spriggs for instance. Who would have guessed he would turned into a total turd

Wist says he knew.

Nah, I didn't like the pick b/c I don't like underpowered guys who have to "bulk up" to hold up. Still, I did think he would develop to be at least a serviceable player. Obviously he never was that.

I get that an OL first and foremost has to have good feet and be able to move in space, but I think the previous regime discounted power and position specificity in favor mobility and interchangeability.

The whole time MM and TT ran the club, I never liked how they viewed and built the OL.

[smuggler]

Think we would have to move up to take Josh Jones? I'm feeling that is probably the money pick. Seems to have a better anchor than ability to drive, but from (the little) I saw, I liked his hands in general and motor in the run game.

[texaspackerbacker]

I like what I read about that guy Becton.

[smuggler]

Becton's great, but I am more interested in guys we actually have a possibility of drafting.