The Arizona Cardinals could be drafting an offensive tackle in the first round or perhaps in the second round. If they select one with the eighth overall pick, they will be getting one of the top-rated tackles in the draft.
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah spoke about four of the top tackle prospects in his recent conference call with the media.
What did he say about each of them?
Louisville OT Mekhi Becton
“To me, Mekhi Becton is a freak, from Louisville, an absolute freak,” said Jeremiah. “He’s a left tackle. He’s a better version of Bryant McKinnie. He’s going to be that guy for the next 10 to 12 years to protect your franchise quarterback. He’s so big, so long, so athletic, even when he is not perfect, it doesn’t matter because nobody can get through him. He’s 6’7”, 370 pounds.
“You just don’t see guys like that come around very often.”
Georgia OT Andrew Thomas
“Andrew Thomas, big left tackle, he’s powerful, he’s dominant in the run game,” Jeremiah said. “He can anchor in pass protection. He’s very aware.
He’s just on the ground a little bit for me. That was a concern, some of the
balance issues.”
Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs
“I think he’s somebody that has a chance to be an All-Pro guard,” said Jeremiah. “And I know he’s played tackle, he’s played on the right and the left. And he’s a good tackle. I think he can play tackle in the NFL. I think he has a chance to be an elite guard.
“He’s got some issues — oversetting, that can be cleaned up a little bit. I just
thought he’d be better if he had neighbors on each side.”
Jeremiah believes Wirfs has a lot to gain at the NFL combine this week.
“If he goes out there and puts on an athletic show, which I’ve heard there’s a chance he does, then he could kind of put that to bed and say, look, I am a tackle. I’m not sliding inside; that’s what I am,” he said. “I think he has a
chance to help himself there.”
USC OT Austin Jackson
Jeremiah believes Jackson is better than Houston tackle Josh Jones, a player many analysts have grown to like. Jackson is seen by many, as of right now, as a second-round pick. That could change.
“I think Austin Jackson will go ahead of (Jones),” Jeremiah said. “I think he’s a better player, and he’s somebody that as you go through the combine, I think he’s going to test really well and I think you’re going to start hearing his name mentioned in that top 15-type mix.
Jeremiah believes that he is a great fit schematically for the Cleveland Browns, who have the 10th pick in the draft.
“He’s only 20 years old. He’s got great knee bend. He can really move laterally. He’s going to get better. He donated his bone marrow to his
sister over the offseason, so he lost an offseason. Obviously speaks to the
kind of brother he is and his character.
“But the loss of that offseason, he just needs to get physically stronger, but as
a 20-year-old with that type of athletic ability, the upside is really endless. And I think he’s somebody that maybe people are sleeping on a little bit at this point in time.”
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 258
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