Before we get into this particular list, I would like to state this for the record: The fact that I have just five offensive tackle prospects here, when I’ve had at least eight prospects on every other position list for the 2023 NFL draft, is not based on laziness.
It’s based entirely on volatility.
After comprehensive tape study, there were five college tackles in this class that I felt were slam-dunk next-level players at their positions in the NFL, and that’s taking into account a few fixes for each player.
Three college tackles — Georgia’s Broderick Jones, Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, and North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch — could be decent-to very good outside, but I tend to think that each of them will work better inside.
To be even more clear, I’m not always in favor of the “Oh, just move a guy inside when you have questions about him” thing. When Rashawn Slater, Skoronski’s predecessor at Northwestern, came out for the 2021 draft, a lot of people looked at his measurables and insisted that he should kick inside. I could not have possibly disagreed more. Slater had the look of a left tackle, and that’s proven out during his time with the Chargers when he’s been healthy.
If you think Rashawn Slater’s not an NFL offensive tackle, here’s why you’re wrong
It’s not a default thing for me, but it’s why the next prospect list, covering interior offensive linemen, will be relatively loaded.
There are other tackles, such as Syracuse’s Matthew Bergeron and Maryland’s Jaelyn Duncan, who may be able to stay outside, but not without a ton of work. In these cases, we may be talking about multi-year projects.
So. With all that said, if you need an offensive tackle in this draft class, and you want him to play pretty quickly outside, here are the five best such prospects for that particular scenario. It’s not the best class for such a need — not by far — but the guys at the top each have a lot to offer, albeit in radically different ways.
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus, Sports Info Solutions, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).
(All prospect measurement percentiles courtesy of MockDraftable.com).
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