This is the fourth in a series previewing each position in the 2022 NFL draft. Today’s installment looks at offensive tackle.
Big men will have their moment in the sun later this month at the NFL draft.
Up to three offensive tackles might be chosen in the top 10 picks, including No. 1 overall – something that hasn’t happened at the position since the Kansas City Chiefs selected Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher first in 2013.
Last year, there were four offensive tackles chosen in the first round. That number is likely to be exceeded this year, although it might not match the six tackles chosen in the first round in 2020.
“This tackle group features potential star power in Evan Neal and Ickey Ekwonu, with both Charles Cross and Trevor Penning grabbing 6.4 marks in my grading system, projecting them as good, early starters,” NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote this week in ranking each of the positional groups. “But once we draft past those five, it gets shaky real quick. Day 2 and Day 3 depth is below average, with many of the prospects on the wrong side of the line dividing their ceiling from their floor.”
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Analytics website Pro Football Focus is a bit more bullish on the offensive tackle class, grading 10 players at the position inside its top 75 prospects.
Position ranking: 5 of 10.
Buffalo Bills view: The Buffalo Bills are in good shape, with Dion Dawkins coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance at left tackle and Spencer Brown emerging as a pleasant surprise last year as a rookie at right tackle. Brown, chosen in the third round from Northern Iowa, pushed veteran Daryl Williams inside and, eventually, off the roster entirely. If Brown can take another step in his second season, that pick will start to look even better for general manager Brandon Beane.
Depth could be a bit of a concern. Currently, the swing tackle projects to be Tommy Doyle, a fifth-round draft pick in 2021. He’s unproven, but the draft won’t be any help if it’s experience that the Bills seek in a player at that position.
None of the Bills’ projected starters along the offensive line are former first-round picks.
“When you look back at the Bills, they've built that offensive line to be a serviceable offensive line, and they've done it without a first-round pick,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “There's other picks in the draft to be able to go and address that. You know, it kind of gets to the philosophy on how you build an offensive line, which I think has changed.
“I think it was just a few years ago when the Cowboys had the best offensive line in the league and it was all these first-round picks, and ‘OK, you've got to dedicate all these resources and high-value picks to your offensive line,' to now, 'Hey, your offensive line is as good as your worst player, so you don't need five Tony Bosellis. You just can't have any tomato cans out there.’ You can build that in the middle rounds. You can find really good offensive linemen in the second and third round.”
Jeremiah backed up that opinion with some facts.
“If you go back and look up the last five Super Bowl teams, that's Super Bowl winning teams, that's 25 starting offensive linemen. Of the 25 starting offensive linemen, three of them were home-grown, first-round picks,” he said. “Four of them were Day 2 picks; seven were Day 3 picks; one was an undrafted free agent; and four were veterans that were acquired in free agency or via trade. You can build an offensive line without using all your first-round picks to do it.”
If the Bills do address tackle, it would be a surprise if they did so before Day 3.
Bills need ranking: 3 of 10.
The best: Ickey Ekwonu, N.C. State.
It’s been too long since the NFL had an Ickey, although it remains to be seen if Ekwonu can shuffle. The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder has the ability to play guard or tackle, although any player going in the top five – and potentially No. 1 overall – should end up at left tackle eventually. Ekwonu has received positive reviews for what he brings to the locker room, in addition to what he brings to the field.
In ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay’s most recent mock draft, he has Ekwonu going No. 5 overall to the New York Giants as the first tackle off the board.
“New General Manager Joe Schoen would be off to a really, really good start to his tenure if he gets this lucky,” McShay wrote. “A run on pass rushers to begin the draft leaves Ekwonu for the Giants at No. 5 overall.”
Names to know: Evan Neal, Alabama; Charles Cross, Mississippi State; Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa; Tyler Smith, Tulsa; Bernhard Raiman, Central Michigan.
Neal is a behemoth, at 6-7, 350. He’s played both left and right tackle over the past two seasons for the Crimson Tide. According to PFF, he allowed just 25 pressures over the last two years. … Cross is a two-year starter who played at a high level in the best conference in college football. Jeremiah ranks him No. 23 on his list of the 50 best prospects in his class, but there’s a good chance he’s gone in the first 10-15 picks. … Penning is a former teammate of Brown at Northern Iowa who is known for playing with a mean streak. He’ll have to answer the same questions Brown did about taking such a significant leap in terms of the level of competition he’ll face in the NFL. … Smith took 16 penalties this past season, so he’ll have to control himself at the next level. Still, Bleacher Report named him as one of its prospects who might get chosen much earlier than expected based on his physical tools. … Raiman was playing tight end just two years ago, but allowed just 10 pressures this past season, according to PFF, with the hope being his best football is still to come.
Sleeper: Braxton Jones, Southern Utah State. Jones made 11 starts last year at left tackle and was named a first-team All-Big Sky selection. He has a basketball background and the arm length (35 3/8 inches) teams look for in tackle prospects.
Top 10 offensive tackles
1. Ickey Ekwonu, N.C. State – Height: 6-4. Weight: 310.
2. Evan Neal, Alabama – Height: 6-7. Weight: 350.
3. Charles Cross, Mississippi State – Height: 6-5. Weight: 307.
4. Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa – Height: 6-7. Weight: 321.
5. Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan – Height: 6-6. Weight: 303.
6. Tyler Smith, Tulsa – Height: 6-4. Weight: 324.
7. Abraham Lucas, Washington State – Height: 6-6. Weight: 315.
8. Max Mitchell, Louisiana – Height: 6-6. Weight: 307.
9. Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State – Height: 6-5. Weight: 316.
10. Kellen Diesch, Arizona State – Height: 6-7. Weight: 301.
