Amani's 2020 NFL Draft OL Analysis - Andrew Thomas & more
Feb 4, 2020 22:52:36 GMT -5
grizz299, richinpa, and 3 more like this
Post by AmaniToomerToeDrag on Feb 4, 2020 22:52:36 GMT -5
I made a couple of posts about the OL talent in this draft. I'm making a thread so I can find it in the future. These are solely my thoughts. I have not checked assessments of these players from draft analysts. This is what I've see from watching some of their game film.
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Andrew thomas thoughts taken from this post: bbwc.com/post/93841
Andrew Thomas: (I've said in the past that I needed to see more film of him. I just watched every snap of his vs LSU. He's changing my mind from his performance in this game!)
Positives: This LSU game he played hungry. I haven't seen him look like this in other footage I've watched. Nice bend and wide base. Excellent foot movement. Was constantly stopping guys trying to beat him around the edge. Played with another gear to him. Using his long arms to his advantage. Wasn't letting guys into his body. Fully extending his arms out and pushing guys away. Really nice. He's quite athletic. He reaches the 2nd level quickly. Pass blocking is his biggest strength. I was impressed by his ability to combat hand usage in this LSU game. There were several times where a defender tried using advanced hand usage techniques and he had a counter to it. Sweeping their hands away making contact with them, etc. If you are going to watch a game of Andew Thomas I say start with the LSU game.
Negatives: Run blocking can improve. I'd like to see him drive guys back a little more. But he does angle himself on blocks which is a pro OL move. When he reaches the 2nd level, he sometimes gets there and has this look of "ok what do I do now?" with no one to hit. When he gets in trouble, its because he gets undisciplined and starts playing too high up (standing up). That's the issue that I saw in other footage. Losing his balance at times. I saw this in the LSU game a few times and it was because of this very thing. If he continues to stay cognizant of keeping his wide base and bending, he looks really good.
I think he is the most pro-ready at LT of the group. He'd be the main LT in consideration at #4 overall if I'm making a big board (he would be at the top of this OL class). I say this based on his LSU tape and Notre Dame film. If he continues to play like he did against a top school like LSU, then he has the potential of being a good LT in the NFL. He has the least amount of flaws compared to all of the other guys in this draft class. I say this with all other above guys fresh in my mind.
Extra Thoughts: Outstanding game against Notre Dame. It was towards the beginning of the season but Notre Dame was ranked 7th. I saw every snap of Thomas' and he dominated that game. He pancaked guys, he drove defenders backwards in the run game, he did a great job thwarting defensive pass rushers. He does show a weakness to bull rushes. He gets off balance when guys try driving him back. He needs to anchor himself better. No prospect is perfect, but this is where he really needs to improve. He played hungry though in that game just like against LSU. His bread and butter is pass protection. He doesn't dominate guys in the run game with overwhelming strength though. If you are looking for a blind side protector he excels at that. If you want a dominating run blocker (like Mekhi Becton) he's not that. One thing that I noticed in his film is that he chips defensive players to score multiple "blocks" on a play. I really love his awareness when he does that. So as he's moving to block his assignment, if another defender is on his route he will redirect them just for good measure. The good OL talents in the NFL do that. That's what creates the massive running lanes on plays. He has a lot of football acumen. He's way far ahead of any other prospect in this class in terms of his football IQ and technique playing LT.
EDIT 3/24/2020: I'm downgrading Andrew Thomas. The thing that bothers me is his weakness to speed to power moves. It's a direct correlation to his lack of strength. Not only upper body strength, but the lack of leg power. I just don't see him being able to sustain speed to power moves from fully grown men in the NFL. He has technique, he has skill, and many past NFL players have entered the league as high caliber OL talent and failed in the NFL. The combination of these flaws in film, and his combine footage (the athletic portion of drills) has my intuition worried about his success at the NFL level. While his skill level is apparent, his lack of physical traits may be hard to overcome without a body transformation. He gets great torque on his blocks in college using every ounce of his strength properly. At the NFL level he will likely have issues doing this with fully grown men who are simply stronger than him. Skill wise, he's my favorite of this class. He's very smart within games. In terms of ranking I'll place him behind Wills.
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Jederick Wills thoughts taken from this past thread: bbwc.com/post/93833
Jederick Wills (High ceiling prospect who needs to work on his weaknesses to be a dominate OL player.):
Positives - Nice bend and wide base when getting out of his stance. Foot work looks great. Squares up his man in pass protection. Creates a nice triangle base when sliding his feet which creates balance to combat bull rushes. This also helps to prevent you from putting too much weight too far forward or on your heals. I saw guys trying to bull rush him in the LSU game and he was holding his ground.
Negatives - Played RT at Alabama, which can be hard to assess him at LT. Lets guys go into his body at times and allows them to stay there. I'd like to see him "bench press" guys away from his body when pass blocking. Seems to lose focus in moments. I've seen him completely whiff on a block. He needs to get his eyes on his target. I've seen him scouring the field with his eyes, meanwhile a guy is right next to him to block. He needs to be more aware of defender positioning pre-snap. His run game blocking is his biggest weakness. He does this thing where he drives his shoulder into his defender's chest and tries driving them back that way. Perhaps he just lacks upper body strength, because he doesn't want to "bench press" guys with his hands/arms. He doesn't seem to have "LT" arm length. I can't tell for sure though. I'd love to get a measurement at the combine. I don't necessarily think he's #4 overall worthy but he looks like an OL talent. When you draft someone at #4 you are saying he's the 4th best football player in college football.
Extra thoughts from his Michigan game: Willis Jr really moves around fluidly. It's quite impressive seeing him move around. He hits the 2nd level with ease. In the game against Michigan he has some nice moments, but too many mistakes! In the beginning of the game he completely botched his assignment on a screen pass. That defender blew up the play. If he blocks his man, that's a HUGE gain because there was no one close to that screen on that side of the field. On one of his pass pros in the beginning of the game. He had his arms fully extended on the defender. He got complacent, the defender simply grabbed his arms and yanked him towards him. He completely lost his balance and almost faceplanted. It's like he loses focus. I mentioned that in my other comments.
But his ceiling in my opinion is high. He could be as good if not better than Andrew Thomas but he's just not there now. He needs to fix his mental lapses. His wide base in pass pro, his athleticism, bend, etc is really nice. He makes so many mistakes by not knowing his assignment. There's no communication on the offensive line. There are plays in this Michigan game where he just throws a guy to the ground and you see the potential. Then the next play he does something to make you forget about that nice pancake. His Michigan tape is not good. If you want to see his negative side, watch that game. That's good competition and he didn't look great throughout the game. Meanwhile put on tape of Andrew Thomas against LSU and Notre Dame and he looked great. Having said that, I think he's the 2nd best OL prospect in this class due to his ceiling.
EDIT 3/24/2020: I'm elevating Wills to the top OL prospect in this class. He's not without flaws, but he has a good range of skills. His combine workout showed a guy that has fluid feet. He has thick legs which are good for anchoring power. He confirmed a lot of things in his tape and actually shocked me in several drills at the combine. His punch is strong, he had the strongest punch of this entire class at the combine. With a #4 pick in the draft you need to minimize risk. You can't draft a bust. I feel good about Wills floor. As he continues to elevate his technique and awareness, he could have a long career in the NFL. He does lack the arm length of a prototypical LT. Although he doesn't necessarily have incredibly short arms. I think if the Giants draft someone at #4 they are playing RT for the time being, since our LT is on a large contract. Wills played RT in college so it would be a natural place for him to be.
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Mekhi Becton (A mountain of a man. His offensive system makes him harder to assess and project into the NFL)
Positives: He has a tremendous height, weight, strength, length combo. If he squares you up you're the one losing that battle. He has great push with his arms. Amazing strength. He bench presses guys away from his body like no other prospect in this class. His arms are quite long so its like boxing with Muhammad Ali. He's surprisingly nimble for a guy his size. He can laterally slide his feet and it looks fine to the eye. In pass protection he does a good job of preventing guys from beating him around the edge. Not many guys want to challenge him on a bull rush.
Negative: His feet get stuck in cement at times. You see this when teams try confusing him with two blitzers coming at him. He can freeze up for a tick while he's deciding what he wants to do, and that's when he loses his footing, balance, takes a false step, etc. He dives on the ground quite often to blow up defenders. He did it several times in a row against Notre Dame. He seems to do it more often when the run play is being ran to the opposite side of the field. Maybe he does it to save his energy to stop himself from running way down the field? He sometimes gives up on plays which means he doesn't play through the whistle at times. He'll just let his man get around him when he has his defender locked right in front of him. No reason to give up like that.
Extra Thoughts: I'd rank him higher than Tristian Wirfs. He could climb towards the top of this OL draft class. I would not be surprised. He needs to manage his weight, not letting it get out of control. I could see Gettleman falling in love with him. He's a hog molly with unbelievable strength. I watched his games against Clemson and Notre Dame. He did a good job against stout teams. It's hard at times to assess Becton because of their style of offense at Louisville. It is more aligned with a team like the Ravens. Makes sense since Lamar Jackson was at Louisville. There's a ton of horizontal offensive line movement due to RPO concepts and zone blocking. He doesn't take many snaps taking steps backwards in the game (against Clemson) and combine that with the lack of defenders trying to beat him around the edge and it's hard to get a feel for his ability to pass protect at times. But the times he did block in a more traditional manner (in the Clemson game), squaring up 1 v 1 against a defender trying to bull rush him, beat him around the edge, etc he handled it quite well. It's almost like his offensive scheme hinders him as a prospect. When he has to move horizontally for these RPO plays he isn't able to really drive guys backwards as much because his momentum is moving sideways more than vertically. Nevertheless, when he squares a guy up moving vertically, he completely obliterates his man. He shows great potential. He could absolutely continue to climb during the draft process. He could be really good, especially for teams that want to establish the run. The warning signs for me is him getting his feet "stuck in cement" on some plays and completely whiffing on his target. He needs to get his feet and mind on the same page. Against Notre Dame there's plays where he just miscalculates the defender during these RPO concepts and the defender gets around him without being touched. But he holds his own in pass protection from guys trying to beat him around the edge. Countering defensive hand techniques is a concern. Some of the Notre Dame players were doing it towards the very end of the game and winning their battles. I don't think he's currently worthy of a #4 overall selection. That's a bit too risky for my blood. But he could be really dominate in the right scheme/system.
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Tristian Wirfs (I haven't read any professional public scouting opinions on him, this is just what I've seen) :
Positives - Great height/weight combo. Looks to have long arms (would be good for a LT position). Incredibly strong. He has records at Iowa for weight lifting. When he squares up the guy he is blocking, he can generate some serious push back. His foot movement seems adequate
Negatives: Plays standing up, needs better bend in his legs. That point relates to my next point, he needs a wider base (getting lower) at times because defenders tend to have an advantage against him when they bull rush him. That's by far his biggest weakness. I'd attack him with a bull rush move at his chest area. Push him up and back. He constantly losses balance when defenders do this to him, because they have the better leverage. I mentioned earlier that when he squares up guys, you can see his power. The problem is that he doesn't square guys up consistently. He gets a piece of their shoulder, a part of the chest, etc. He has really big mits. He needs to square his hit on his man and use all that power he has. Played RT at Iowa, so he didn't have the pressure that an LT gets nor the better competition (usually) on the left side. I've noticed that he ends up on the ground quite often in games. Too flawed for a #4 overall pick in my opinion. He could be good if he does X, Y, Z. Top 4 picks need to be the best football players, now.
EDIT 3/24/2020: Absolutely destroyed the combine in every drill. He shows that he can fluidly move around. He showed those absolutely massive legs off to the world. He has a lot of physical attributes that are in a rare specimen prospect. Gettleman has had a history of drafting freaks (Saquon, Christian McCaffrey). The problems to me is that Wirf's game film left a lot to be desired. He needed another year of college to refine technique. He stands up too much when actually playing, he's not consistent enough throughout a game. He'll show you massive dominance, then you'll see him blocking passively; allowing a defender to get into his body and stay there without fighting back. He doesn't square defenders up consistently either. He has shorter arms (the shortest of the top 4 guys in this class). He seems more like a guard than a tackle. I don't think he could lineup at LT, and I don't think the Giants would be drafting someone at #4 to play LT anyways because of their current contracts. He has a lot to work on, but he's so strong, flexible, fluid moving, that his ceiling is high. I just think he's risky. His floor is not stable. He could bust if he doesn't develop quickly enough. Against Michigan guys that weren't 1st round talents, they were using spin moves, yanking him off balance, etc and getting towards the QB. He lacks technique. In terms of film, I'd rank him last, compared to the "big 4" (Wills, Thomas, Becton and Wirfs).
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Austin Jackson (I don't see him as a 1st round talent, because of his lack of strength/build. He needs to get bigger/stronger to unlock everything. He's more of a project. I'm including him because some places have him ranked high:)
Positives: Really athletic for a LT. Fantastic bend. Sweet feet. Can hit the 2nd level with ease. I've seen guys try to beat him around the edge and his foot movement is just so fluid that he recovers and denies the rush. Excels at pass blocking.
Negatives: Lacks strength. He looks a bit on the lighter side (weight) but that's probably why he is so fluid and athletic. Run blocking is his weakness. He doesn't seem to square up his blocks enough. Doesn't latch onto guys and drive them back in the run game. Needs better hand usage. In the Utah game he was beat for a sack from a guy trying to beat him around the edge. The defender simply out matched him with hand usage. He had him squared up (again, great foot movement on this guy). Needs to bulk up a bit to cover potential weaknesses in run blocking when facing very strong men at the NFL level. He's a project player in my opinion because from his tape he needs to bulk up to improve his run game weaknesses.
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Andrew thomas thoughts taken from this post: bbwc.com/post/93841
Andrew Thomas: (I've said in the past that I needed to see more film of him. I just watched every snap of his vs LSU. He's changing my mind from his performance in this game!)
Positives: This LSU game he played hungry. I haven't seen him look like this in other footage I've watched. Nice bend and wide base. Excellent foot movement. Was constantly stopping guys trying to beat him around the edge. Played with another gear to him. Using his long arms to his advantage. Wasn't letting guys into his body. Fully extending his arms out and pushing guys away. Really nice. He's quite athletic. He reaches the 2nd level quickly. Pass blocking is his biggest strength. I was impressed by his ability to combat hand usage in this LSU game. There were several times where a defender tried using advanced hand usage techniques and he had a counter to it. Sweeping their hands away making contact with them, etc. If you are going to watch a game of Andew Thomas I say start with the LSU game.
Negatives: Run blocking can improve. I'd like to see him drive guys back a little more. But he does angle himself on blocks which is a pro OL move. When he reaches the 2nd level, he sometimes gets there and has this look of "ok what do I do now?" with no one to hit. When he gets in trouble, its because he gets undisciplined and starts playing too high up (standing up). That's the issue that I saw in other footage. Losing his balance at times. I saw this in the LSU game a few times and it was because of this very thing. If he continues to stay cognizant of keeping his wide base and bending, he looks really good.
I think he is the most pro-ready at LT of the group. He'd be the main LT in consideration at #4 overall if I'm making a big board (he would be at the top of this OL class). I say this based on his LSU tape and Notre Dame film. If he continues to play like he did against a top school like LSU, then he has the potential of being a good LT in the NFL. He has the least amount of flaws compared to all of the other guys in this draft class. I say this with all other above guys fresh in my mind.
Extra Thoughts: Outstanding game against Notre Dame. It was towards the beginning of the season but Notre Dame was ranked 7th. I saw every snap of Thomas' and he dominated that game. He pancaked guys, he drove defenders backwards in the run game, he did a great job thwarting defensive pass rushers. He does show a weakness to bull rushes. He gets off balance when guys try driving him back. He needs to anchor himself better. No prospect is perfect, but this is where he really needs to improve. He played hungry though in that game just like against LSU. His bread and butter is pass protection. He doesn't dominate guys in the run game with overwhelming strength though. If you are looking for a blind side protector he excels at that. If you want a dominating run blocker (like Mekhi Becton) he's not that. One thing that I noticed in his film is that he chips defensive players to score multiple "blocks" on a play. I really love his awareness when he does that. So as he's moving to block his assignment, if another defender is on his route he will redirect them just for good measure. The good OL talents in the NFL do that. That's what creates the massive running lanes on plays. He has a lot of football acumen. He's way far ahead of any other prospect in this class in terms of his football IQ and technique playing LT.
EDIT 3/24/2020: I'm downgrading Andrew Thomas. The thing that bothers me is his weakness to speed to power moves. It's a direct correlation to his lack of strength. Not only upper body strength, but the lack of leg power. I just don't see him being able to sustain speed to power moves from fully grown men in the NFL. He has technique, he has skill, and many past NFL players have entered the league as high caliber OL talent and failed in the NFL. The combination of these flaws in film, and his combine footage (the athletic portion of drills) has my intuition worried about his success at the NFL level. While his skill level is apparent, his lack of physical traits may be hard to overcome without a body transformation. He gets great torque on his blocks in college using every ounce of his strength properly. At the NFL level he will likely have issues doing this with fully grown men who are simply stronger than him. Skill wise, he's my favorite of this class. He's very smart within games. In terms of ranking I'll place him behind Wills.
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Jederick Wills thoughts taken from this past thread: bbwc.com/post/93833
Jederick Wills (High ceiling prospect who needs to work on his weaknesses to be a dominate OL player.):
Positives - Nice bend and wide base when getting out of his stance. Foot work looks great. Squares up his man in pass protection. Creates a nice triangle base when sliding his feet which creates balance to combat bull rushes. This also helps to prevent you from putting too much weight too far forward or on your heals. I saw guys trying to bull rush him in the LSU game and he was holding his ground.
Negatives - Played RT at Alabama, which can be hard to assess him at LT. Lets guys go into his body at times and allows them to stay there. I'd like to see him "bench press" guys away from his body when pass blocking. Seems to lose focus in moments. I've seen him completely whiff on a block. He needs to get his eyes on his target. I've seen him scouring the field with his eyes, meanwhile a guy is right next to him to block. He needs to be more aware of defender positioning pre-snap. His run game blocking is his biggest weakness. He does this thing where he drives his shoulder into his defender's chest and tries driving them back that way. Perhaps he just lacks upper body strength, because he doesn't want to "bench press" guys with his hands/arms. He doesn't seem to have "LT" arm length. I can't tell for sure though. I'd love to get a measurement at the combine. I don't necessarily think he's #4 overall worthy but he looks like an OL talent. When you draft someone at #4 you are saying he's the 4th best football player in college football.
Extra thoughts from his Michigan game: Willis Jr really moves around fluidly. It's quite impressive seeing him move around. He hits the 2nd level with ease. In the game against Michigan he has some nice moments, but too many mistakes! In the beginning of the game he completely botched his assignment on a screen pass. That defender blew up the play. If he blocks his man, that's a HUGE gain because there was no one close to that screen on that side of the field. On one of his pass pros in the beginning of the game. He had his arms fully extended on the defender. He got complacent, the defender simply grabbed his arms and yanked him towards him. He completely lost his balance and almost faceplanted. It's like he loses focus. I mentioned that in my other comments.
But his ceiling in my opinion is high. He could be as good if not better than Andrew Thomas but he's just not there now. He needs to fix his mental lapses. His wide base in pass pro, his athleticism, bend, etc is really nice. He makes so many mistakes by not knowing his assignment. There's no communication on the offensive line. There are plays in this Michigan game where he just throws a guy to the ground and you see the potential. Then the next play he does something to make you forget about that nice pancake. His Michigan tape is not good. If you want to see his negative side, watch that game. That's good competition and he didn't look great throughout the game. Meanwhile put on tape of Andrew Thomas against LSU and Notre Dame and he looked great. Having said that, I think he's the 2nd best OL prospect in this class due to his ceiling.
EDIT 3/24/2020: I'm elevating Wills to the top OL prospect in this class. He's not without flaws, but he has a good range of skills. His combine workout showed a guy that has fluid feet. He has thick legs which are good for anchoring power. He confirmed a lot of things in his tape and actually shocked me in several drills at the combine. His punch is strong, he had the strongest punch of this entire class at the combine. With a #4 pick in the draft you need to minimize risk. You can't draft a bust. I feel good about Wills floor. As he continues to elevate his technique and awareness, he could have a long career in the NFL. He does lack the arm length of a prototypical LT. Although he doesn't necessarily have incredibly short arms. I think if the Giants draft someone at #4 they are playing RT for the time being, since our LT is on a large contract. Wills played RT in college so it would be a natural place for him to be.
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Mekhi Becton (A mountain of a man. His offensive system makes him harder to assess and project into the NFL)
Positives: He has a tremendous height, weight, strength, length combo. If he squares you up you're the one losing that battle. He has great push with his arms. Amazing strength. He bench presses guys away from his body like no other prospect in this class. His arms are quite long so its like boxing with Muhammad Ali. He's surprisingly nimble for a guy his size. He can laterally slide his feet and it looks fine to the eye. In pass protection he does a good job of preventing guys from beating him around the edge. Not many guys want to challenge him on a bull rush.
Negative: His feet get stuck in cement at times. You see this when teams try confusing him with two blitzers coming at him. He can freeze up for a tick while he's deciding what he wants to do, and that's when he loses his footing, balance, takes a false step, etc. He dives on the ground quite often to blow up defenders. He did it several times in a row against Notre Dame. He seems to do it more often when the run play is being ran to the opposite side of the field. Maybe he does it to save his energy to stop himself from running way down the field? He sometimes gives up on plays which means he doesn't play through the whistle at times. He'll just let his man get around him when he has his defender locked right in front of him. No reason to give up like that.
Extra Thoughts: I'd rank him higher than Tristian Wirfs. He could climb towards the top of this OL draft class. I would not be surprised. He needs to manage his weight, not letting it get out of control. I could see Gettleman falling in love with him. He's a hog molly with unbelievable strength. I watched his games against Clemson and Notre Dame. He did a good job against stout teams. It's hard at times to assess Becton because of their style of offense at Louisville. It is more aligned with a team like the Ravens. Makes sense since Lamar Jackson was at Louisville. There's a ton of horizontal offensive line movement due to RPO concepts and zone blocking. He doesn't take many snaps taking steps backwards in the game (against Clemson) and combine that with the lack of defenders trying to beat him around the edge and it's hard to get a feel for his ability to pass protect at times. But the times he did block in a more traditional manner (in the Clemson game), squaring up 1 v 1 against a defender trying to bull rush him, beat him around the edge, etc he handled it quite well. It's almost like his offensive scheme hinders him as a prospect. When he has to move horizontally for these RPO plays he isn't able to really drive guys backwards as much because his momentum is moving sideways more than vertically. Nevertheless, when he squares a guy up moving vertically, he completely obliterates his man. He shows great potential. He could absolutely continue to climb during the draft process. He could be really good, especially for teams that want to establish the run. The warning signs for me is him getting his feet "stuck in cement" on some plays and completely whiffing on his target. He needs to get his feet and mind on the same page. Against Notre Dame there's plays where he just miscalculates the defender during these RPO concepts and the defender gets around him without being touched. But he holds his own in pass protection from guys trying to beat him around the edge. Countering defensive hand techniques is a concern. Some of the Notre Dame players were doing it towards the very end of the game and winning their battles. I don't think he's currently worthy of a #4 overall selection. That's a bit too risky for my blood. But he could be really dominate in the right scheme/system.
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Tristian Wirfs (I haven't read any professional public scouting opinions on him, this is just what I've seen) :
Positives - Great height/weight combo. Looks to have long arms (would be good for a LT position). Incredibly strong. He has records at Iowa for weight lifting. When he squares up the guy he is blocking, he can generate some serious push back. His foot movement seems adequate
Negatives: Plays standing up, needs better bend in his legs. That point relates to my next point, he needs a wider base (getting lower) at times because defenders tend to have an advantage against him when they bull rush him. That's by far his biggest weakness. I'd attack him with a bull rush move at his chest area. Push him up and back. He constantly losses balance when defenders do this to him, because they have the better leverage. I mentioned earlier that when he squares up guys, you can see his power. The problem is that he doesn't square guys up consistently. He gets a piece of their shoulder, a part of the chest, etc. He has really big mits. He needs to square his hit on his man and use all that power he has. Played RT at Iowa, so he didn't have the pressure that an LT gets nor the better competition (usually) on the left side. I've noticed that he ends up on the ground quite often in games. Too flawed for a #4 overall pick in my opinion. He could be good if he does X, Y, Z. Top 4 picks need to be the best football players, now.
EDIT 3/24/2020: Absolutely destroyed the combine in every drill. He shows that he can fluidly move around. He showed those absolutely massive legs off to the world. He has a lot of physical attributes that are in a rare specimen prospect. Gettleman has had a history of drafting freaks (Saquon, Christian McCaffrey). The problems to me is that Wirf's game film left a lot to be desired. He needed another year of college to refine technique. He stands up too much when actually playing, he's not consistent enough throughout a game. He'll show you massive dominance, then you'll see him blocking passively; allowing a defender to get into his body and stay there without fighting back. He doesn't square defenders up consistently either. He has shorter arms (the shortest of the top 4 guys in this class). He seems more like a guard than a tackle. I don't think he could lineup at LT, and I don't think the Giants would be drafting someone at #4 to play LT anyways because of their current contracts. He has a lot to work on, but he's so strong, flexible, fluid moving, that his ceiling is high. I just think he's risky. His floor is not stable. He could bust if he doesn't develop quickly enough. Against Michigan guys that weren't 1st round talents, they were using spin moves, yanking him off balance, etc and getting towards the QB. He lacks technique. In terms of film, I'd rank him last, compared to the "big 4" (Wills, Thomas, Becton and Wirfs).
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Austin Jackson (I don't see him as a 1st round talent, because of his lack of strength/build. He needs to get bigger/stronger to unlock everything. He's more of a project. I'm including him because some places have him ranked high:)
Positives: Really athletic for a LT. Fantastic bend. Sweet feet. Can hit the 2nd level with ease. I've seen guys try to beat him around the edge and his foot movement is just so fluid that he recovers and denies the rush. Excels at pass blocking.
Negatives: Lacks strength. He looks a bit on the lighter side (weight) but that's probably why he is so fluid and athletic. Run blocking is his weakness. He doesn't seem to square up his blocks enough. Doesn't latch onto guys and drive them back in the run game. Needs better hand usage. In the Utah game he was beat for a sack from a guy trying to beat him around the edge. The defender simply out matched him with hand usage. He had him squared up (again, great foot movement on this guy). Needs to bulk up a bit to cover potential weaknesses in run blocking when facing very strong men at the NFL level. He's a project player in my opinion because from his tape he needs to bulk up to improve his run game weaknesses.