3. Tristan Wirfs, Iowa
Height: 6’5″ Weight: 320
40-Yard Dash: 4.85
Bench Press: 24 reps
Vertical Jump: 36.5 inches
Broad Jump: 121 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.65 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.68 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Iowa’s Class 2A Offensive Lineman of the Year at Mount Vernon High School, Wirfs was the fourth Iowa male athlete ever to win consecutive shot put and discus titles, and he was the first true freshman ever to start on Kirk Ferentz’s Iowa offensive lines. Given the level of complexity Ferentz puts into his line schemes, that’s no small feat. A plus athlete at just about everything, Wirfs has become a weightlifting freak and was also a state wrestling champion in his senior year of high school. He played both left and right tackle for Ferentz through three seasons, showing improvement in all areas throughout his time there.
“Wrestling, it’s a big pretty big thing in Iowa,” Wirfs said at the scouting combine. ” I think there are two big things you can take away from wrestling that translate over to football: body control and an awareness [of] hand movement. Being able to do that I think shows teams, one, how competitive I am. It takes a lot to be a wrestler, especially people from Iowa will attest that and [it’s an] individual sports so it’s just you versus another guy. Like, I hate losing, so I’m not going to let another man beat me. I’m going to do everything I can to stop it. You’ve got to do the same thing on the offensive line.”
However he got there, Wirfs has become an obvious technician with plus strength who will be an immediate asset at the next level.
Stat to Know: Wirfs didn’t allow a single sack in 428 pass-blocking snaps in 2018, and gave up just two sacks, two quarterback hits, and three quarterback hurries in 481 pass-blocking snaps last season.
Strengths: Played in a complex and varied scheme that will translate well to whatever he does in the NFL. Excellent counter defender — Wirfs can re-set quickly from one defender to another with little lunging and loss of technique or strength. When he does extend and latch on, has a tendency to make people move away from the ballcarrier. Can push people out of his frame easily. When he drive-blocks with the right pad level, it’s a problem for defenders. Aggressive in looking for work on combo blocks and to the second level. Has a smooth kick-step in pass pro that allows him to extend and adjust to the rusher and be aggressive with his hands. Will not give up power when he’s set. Decent runner on the move and has a good sense of his targets in space. More of a zone than gap player, but has the attributes to do either very well.
Weaknesses: Wirfs loses play strength when on the move because he loses his leverage on high blocks. Needs to maintain his ideal level when he’s not in the octagon. Has a tendency to excacerbate this by playing on his toes in zone slide, and this is when he can get rocked back. Hidden to a point by heavy tight end usage to his side; hasn’t blocked in space as often as other tackles in this class.
Conclusion: Some believe that Wirfs is an automatic switch to guard at the NFL level; I think he has the abilities to stay at right tackle in the pros at a Pro Bowl level as long as he’s able to work a few technical things out and expand on his ability to block in space. I think it would be a mistake to move him to left tackle on a full-time basis, but he looks like a natural right tackle in an NFL where the position has grown in importance, and the required traits are more complex.
NFL Comparison: Isaiah Wynn. In college, Wynn was a plus athlete with great play strength who projected well at tackle or guard. Wirfs has a similar athletic demeanor, though Wynn was a bit more fluid an exact on the move.