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2024 NFL draft: Bowl season offensive tackle big board from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon
Bowl season just kicked off over the weekend with a trio of exhibitions. It kicks into full force in the coming days. It’s a good time to update some positional rankings.
As of now, this is how I rank the offensive tackles. It’s a very impressive class overall, with a few different flavors that will appeal to certain teams more than they do others. I broke down a little of that with Joe Alt and Olu Fashanu here.
Note: I rank Duke’s Graham Barton as an interior OL. He’d be sixth on this list.
The early impression and rankings for what looks like a very good OT draft class
Up next in the preseason 2024 NFL draft positional rankings and players to know: the offensive tackles. The initial impression is that this could be a very good draft year for NFL teams to need OT help from the college ranks.
These are very fluid rankings. In general, these are early impressions about the NFL potential of players who still have a considerable amount of football to play before they’re drafted. Some underclassmen are included here strictly as mentions; it is not meant to advocate for a player to leave early.
After watching enough to get a baseline feel for the players, here is an early listing and my preliminary ranking for the offensive tackles in the NFL draft class of 2024.
Breaking down where Notre Dame OT Joe Alt can improve his game in the 2023 college season as a 2024 NFL draft prospect
Joe Alt enters the 2023 college season as one of the favorites to be the first offensive lineman selected in the 2024 NFL draft. The Notre Dame left tackle has shown impressive quickness, great length, solid technical mastery and upside to grow even more.
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Alt still has a couple of areas where he can improve upon his game to make himself an even more appealing prospect in the upcoming season. After watching five Notre Dame games from 2022 (Ohio State, North Carolina, USC, Stanford, Clemson), here are two facets where Alt can improve.
Alt is a very impressive athlete for being 6-foot-8, and he moves quite well for a taller OT. He does have some struggles in creating movement in the run game when tasked with heads-up blocking or working solo on a stouter defender.
Part of the issue is out of his control; he’s too long to generate a lot of force against defenders who have a natural leverage advantage against him and understand how to use it. Taller NFL vets like Taylor Decker and Mike McGlinchey have had to overcome similar issues coming out of college as top-20 overall picks. Alt generally bends well but doesn’t always do so when having to reach at extension for the initial block.
Some of Alt’s struggles in this area are a propensity to stop driving his feet while engaged. He often tries to create movement with more shoulder torque and initial pop from his long (and impressive) punch. But after that initial horn-locking, Alt doesn’t always churn the feet or engage his lower body to drive and attack. It’s reminiscent of another first-round OT from the past, Jack Conklin. When Conklin remembered to keep the feet active, he was very good for both the Titans and Browns. When he didn’t, he had some real struggles against the superior power of the EDGE defenders in the NFL.
Alt did not allow a single sack in the games I watched. In fact, Notre Dame had him credited with a clean sack slate all season. But he does show some vulnerability with his inside (right) shoulder when facing stand-up rushers who can avoid the initial punch.
This is related to the aforementioned length. There is a point of diminishing returns for length at tackle, and Alt approaches it. When he fires out those long arms, it naturally takes him a tick longer to reset and readjust to the defender than it does for a guy who is “just” 6-foot-6. Alt showed a tendency to exacerbate this by leaning out over his toes instead of sliding his inside foot forward when outside rushers tried to cross his face or spin inside.
Johnson could be the first offensive lineman drafted in 2023
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The blindside protector for CJ Stroud, Ohio State’s top tackle is hoping to be as stable as he was for his first round quarterback and find himself in the first round as well as he enters the 2023 NFL draft.
Here is everything you need to know about the Buckeyes tackle:
Scouting report for Georgia Bulldogs OT Broderick Jones in the 2023 NFL draft
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One of the most prominent names on the offensive side of the ball for the national champion Georgia teams, offensive tackle Broderick Jones will look to carry his championship pedigree into the next level as he enters the 2023 NFL draft.
Here is everything you need to know about the Bulldogs’ blindside protector:
Scouting report on giant Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones
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A massive human who has made a career of moving people, Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones will hope his size and play can carry him to an early selection as he enters the 2023 NFL draft.
Here is everything you need to know about the Buckeyes big blocker:
Everything NFL draft fans need to know about LSU offensive tackle prospect Saahdiq Charles
Charles is an athletic offensive tackle prospect who possesses intriguing quickness, flexibility and footwork for someone his size. He could stand to work on his technique and strength a bit, and his suspension this past year may need some digging into, but the potential is palpable in his skill set.
Height | 6-4
Weight | 321
Charles’ athletic abilities should see him high in demand after the first tier of offensive tackles comes off the board in this year’s class.
A nimble lineman who moves around better than most his size, Charles has very good lateral quickness and possesses impressive footwork and body control when moving around. He changes direction well, allowing him to counter speed rushes and adjust his set points to close off the possibility of a defender bouncing inside against him. His acceleration climbing to the second level is impressive, and he has the athleticism and awareness to make adjustments and position himself to take on incoming defenders or blitzes. He has shown some potential in his flexibility, as he can bend pretty well when he maintains the composure to do so.
A three-year starter who has only been playing as an offensive lineman for four years, Charles possesses an enticing experience-room to grow combination and is continually getting better as he adjusts to the position. He has some experience as a guard too, which may help him get additional playing time early on in his career. His athletic abilities, as well as the flashes of potential he’s shown when he gets his technique down, give him a high ceiling at the next level.
Charles weighed significantly more at the Combine than he was listed as at LSU, and while he did need to pack on weight, it remains to be seen if that weight gain will translate to added play strength. On tape, he didn’t pack much of a punch at the point of attack and didn’t have enough of a mauler playing style to drive defenders into the dirt. He struggles at times with recovering from speed-to-power conversions against him, and his overall core strength is pretty average.
Part of his power struggles stem from his technique, as he doesn’t play with optimal pad level and can do better at maintaining leverage. He can also improve the consistency in his hand placement and can allow defenders inside his frame a bit too easily. His ability to re-set his hands isn’t all that great yet, and he has a tendency to lunge from time to time. Charles was suspended for six games in 2019 for disciplinary reasons, and while the exact cause of the suspension is unknown, teams will certainly have to do some digging in that regard.
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Everything NFL draft fans need to know about UConn offensive tackle prospect Matt Peart
A high-ceiling tackle prospect with a lengthy frame and commendable athleticism for his size, Peart has the physical tools to be a high-quality offensive lineman at the next level. Though he’s pretty raw and can add some more muscle to his frame, the upside he offers should help his draft stock a bit.
Height | 6-7
Weight | 318
Coaches like length at the offensive tackle position, and Peart has that in spades.
A giant who measured with the longest arms at the Combine, Peart has fantastic measurables for his position. His arms alone give him plenty of range as a blocker, but that length is complemented by impressive speed and agility. He moves well laterally in pass protection and is light on his feet when changing direction. He has the burst coming out of his stance – as well as sustainable speed – to keep up with athletic edge rushers off the snap. When climbing to the second level, he accelerates quickly and has the body control to maintain blocks while on the move, which also helps out in down-blocking situations.
Peart also has shown that he can play with a nasty edge at times, demonstrating flashes of grip strength that can overwhelm opposing defenders. He offers versatility along the offensive line, having played as both a tackle and a guard at UConn. He was also a four-year starter, so he has plenty of experience and plenty of tape to go off of, and his growth as a blocker is apparent.
Though his athletic upside will see Peart drafted highly, his rawness as a blocker will more than likely prevent him from going higher than Day 2. He has a skinny frame and doesn’t possess much raw power in his lower body. That underwhelming strength is affected more so by his subpar pad level, as he doesn’t do a great job of sinking his hips and staying low to get his weight underneath him. It’s not a matter of flexibility with him, as he is a quality athlete, but rather composure. He fails to generate significant force or drive in his legs.
Peart can also stand to improve his hand placement a bit. While he has shown some flashes in that regard, he can be more consistent at places his strikes correctly and making sure not to lunge at opposing defenders. He weighed in heavier at the Combine than he ever did at UConn, but time will tell if that weight was fluctuated, or if it wasn’t, if that weight translates to more power.
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Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Georgia offensive tackle prospect Isaiah Wilson
Wilson is a massive individual who brings plenty of raw power, nastiness and potential at the next level. He’s a work in progress, but the upside is there for him to be a solid starter at the next level.
Height | 6-6
Weight | 350
You don’t even need to watch Wilson’s tape to determine one of his strengths; one look at him tells the story.
Wilson is absolutely huge, even by offensive line standards. The second-heaviest player to attend the Combine this year, the Georgia product has a hulking frame with a wide chest, a strong lower body and broad shoulders. That bulk correlates to his play strength, as he packs a powerful punch at the point of attack. He has consistent grip strength and is able to overwhelm defenders at the point of attack. Once he grips onto an opponent, he has the drive in his lower body and the nasty edge in his game to knock them backwards and finish them off.
With the run-heavy offense Georgia tends to run, Wilson has plenty of experience blocking in the ground game and excels there the most. He has some potential as a pass blocker though, as he has shown solid lateral quickness and footwork for someone as big as he is. When he gets his hands placed correctly, he does a solid job of finishing the defender off and locking that defender out of the play entirely.
Wilson is definitely a work in progress and will likely require a year on the bench. He doesn’t play with good body control and can struggle maintaining his balance, whether it be when he advances to the second level or when he lunges forward and mistimes his jabs. His hand placement can be hit or miss, which can allow defenders to slip underneath him. That can be difficult for him to counter, seeing as he doesn’t play with stellar pad level or flexibility in his lower half.
Though it isn’t a surprise considering how big he is, Wilson is a bit stiff-hipped and struggles with adjusting his set points and rotating to square up to the defender in pass protection. There are times where he loses to an edge rusher going forward with a speed rush, so he enters recovery mode and begins running instead of shuffling along with them. He’s also declaring as a redshirt sophomore, so there is some slight inexperience there, even though he was a two-year starter at Georgia.
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Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Boise State offensive tackle prospect Ezra Cleveland
Cleveland is a lengthy and athletic tackle prospect who checks plenty of boxes in the physical tools department. He needs to work on his play strength and clean some things up from a technical perspective, but he has the upside to develop into a solid starter at either tackle position.
Height | 6-6
Weight | 311
Though he broke out onto the scene with an impressive Combine performance, Cleveland’s tape shows that his athleticism was apparent throughout college.
A three-year starter at the collegiate level, Cleveland brings plenty of intrigue with his lengthy frame and his athletic abilities. He accelerates well when he climbs to the second level and has good overall quickness when tasked as a down blocker. That speed and acceleration was reflected in his 40-yard dash at the Combine, as he ran a 4.93 time with a 1.74 10-yard split that is fantastic for an offensive lineman. He moves with good footwork and sound body control in pass protection, as he can change direction well and mirror the movements of edge rushers pretty consistently.
Cleveland has shown that he has raw power in his upper body and can physically overwhelm the opposition when he gets proper hand placement. He has flashed the ability to seal off defenders in the run game, and he can re-set his hands well and fight hard to maintain leverage with his hands. A two-time All-Mountain West first-team lineman, Cleveland has been an anchor for a Boise State offensive line that has produced 1,000-yard rushers in every season he was a starter.
Consistent technique and play strength are occurring issues on Cleveland’s film. Part of that stems from his inability to regularly sink his hips and get his weight underneath him when he blocks. He has a tendency to block from an upright stance, even with the natural athleticism he possesses. His hip work as a pass protector could use some more precision in the angles he takes to edge rushers.
Cleveland doesn’t have top-notch anchor strength, which prevents him from being able to drive many defenders back a considerable amount. His recovery strength against power moves could be improved, and he could struggle early on in his career against bull rushes and powerful jabs from NFL edge rushers. He can also get better at consistently getting inside hand placement, as his strikes can stand to be a bit more precise.
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