Iowa Football: Is Tristan Wirfs a top 10 pick in 2020 NFL Draft?

With so many teams in need of an offensive line, it stands to reason Iowa football’s Tristan Wirfs will be picked near the top of the first round.

If the quarterback is the most important position offensively, the offensive tackle is No. 2. You need a tackle to protect both sides of a quarterback.

This draft is not especially strong at offensive tackle. There’s a battle between Wirfs and fellow underclassmen Alabama tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. as who the top offensive tackle is in this draft. Wirfs has two things going for himself in this draft.

First, he has the Iowa pedigree. One thing we know the Hawkeyes do as well as any school in the country is produce solid, reliable NFL offensive linemen. Wirfs is an all-around athlete as well. He threw the shot put as well as wrestled in high school.

Strengths

He’s an athlete. Wirfs has natural strength, but that is not his only athletic trait. He is flexible with nimble light feet for a young man that is 322 pounds. He’s versatile as he played both left and right tackle during his time at Iowa City looking comfortable doing both.

Wirfs has a cerebral approach to playing offensive line demonstrating a great understanding of blocking schemes while having a nasty, ornery disposition you love to see in offensive linemen. His physical size makes it difficult for defensive linemen to get around him and when he gets his hands on you, Wirfs has the ability to take you wherever he wants to take you.

Speaking of his hands, he is a competent hand fighter yet he isn’t “grabby”. He is as proficient a run blocker as he is a pass blocker. He understands his role as a run blocker, specifically when it comes to either being a lead blocker or a backside blocker. He is a great anchor as a run blocker who is capable of keeping a defensive end or linebacker from setting the edge and stretching out a run play.

Because of his hands and feet, Wirfs does a great job of getting his hands on pass rushers and leading them away from the quarterback.

Weaknesses

Wirfs does not do well against pass rushers who are elite athletes. He’s good as a blocker in a “phone booth”, but is not agile enough to deal with counter maneuvers or pass rushers with a good bend. Because he is not elite laterally, Wirfs struggles with pass rushers with an array of pass rush moves. This causes him to play off balance at times.

There is an argument that his combine numbers combined with his Iowa pedigree might overrate his actual ability. His lack of elite lateral agility coupled with playing off balance at times is why many teams like him at guard and not tackle.

Draft Projection

The question about Wirfs is a simple, yet important one: is he a guard or a tackle? If you move him to guard, he is not Quenton Nelson. If you draft him as a tackle then move him to guard, that’s not exactly the value you want for a pick in the top 10. So if he’s not an elite guard or an elite tackle, then where do you draft him?

There will be a team that sees his ability to play guard or tackle as a positive not a negative. Wills Jr. will probably be the first lineman taken, but don’t expect Wirfs to be around past pick No. 15.

Projection: First round (picks 9-13)