Georgia Football: Can Isaiah Wilson continue to rise up NFL draft boards?

Georgia football’s Isaiah Wilson has been getting a lot of draft buzz in the past month or so and he is poised to keep moving up the draft boards.

Some prospects don’t see their stocks rise until shortly before the draft, especially when they are a position of huge need and they are talented. Isaiah Wilson fits every one of those categories and has seen his stock steadily rise to the point where he might be a first-round pick in this year’s draft.

Players rise up the draft boards every year, especially when they are at a premium position such as quarterback, edge rusher and offensive tackle. Wilson is a very talented player that never reached his full potential at Georgia and NFL teams will be intrigued by his massive size and strength and think he could be a great run blocking tackle and develop him to reach his full potential.

Wilson arrived to Athens as a five start recruit from the state of New York and he was thought to be forming one of the top young duos on the offensive line with fellow prospect Andrew Thomas. He redshirted his first season in Athens and was looking to the next season to make his impact. Wilson started every game during his redshirt freshman season at right tackle and was apart of one of the best offensive lines in the country. Wilson earned freshman All American honors and was ready to have a big redshirt sophomore season in 2019.

Wilson suffered an ankle injury during the season, but still managed to earn second team All-American honors and looked to have a great NFL combine to raise his stock. He measured in at the Combine at 6-6, 350 pounds and had 26 reps on the bench press.

The elite prospect has seen his stock rise in the past month or so.

Strengths

Wilson is a massive man at 6-foot-6, 350 pounds and is a physical linemen with strength. He is one of the best run blockers in the draft class and should be ready to step into that role right away in the NFL.

Moreover, he’s above average athlete for someone of his size and there is a feeling around the league that Wilson is only starting to scratch the surface of his talent.

Weaknesses

Wilson is not the best of pass blockers at this stage of his career and has slow footwork and had trouble handling faster guys off the edge while at Georgia. He did not play right away like his fellow offensive linemen, Thomas, did and Wilson never quite dominated like people thought he would when he came out of high school and Georgia offensive linemen are usually coached to their potential.

Is that a sign that he is overrated due to size and strength?

Draft Projection

I have written about some of the other offensive tackles in this class and have often referred to a second group of offensive linemen that will be taken higher than expected and Wilson fits right in with that group. Given his size and strength, expect some team in the second round to take a flier on Wilson and hope they can develop the rest of his game.

Projection: Early-second round