Redskins: Analyzing the battle for the fourth offensive tackle spot

Redskins OT Brian Wallace

The Redskins seem to like size in their offensive tackles, and with good reason; it’s one of the things you can’t teach. While nuance, blocking angle awareness, and leverage are all traits with varying degrees of intangible foundation, size literally cannot be taught. And it’s one thing that makes Brian Wallace intriguing in this position battle.

Wallace, an undrafted free agent who played his college ball with the Arkansas Razorbacks of the SEC, measures out to around 6-foot-5, 326, and with 35.5-inch arms and a wingspan eclipsing seven feet, he has the length to force contact on opposing defensive linemen. He moves fairly well for his size, and with a year and a half of starting experience at right tackle, his cupboard isn’t entirely bare, but also offers exciting room for improvement.

That said, Wallace has some irreconcilable disadvantages to remedy before he can be considered a viable roster inclusion. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein highlighted Wallace’s lack of play strength at length in Wallace’s draft profile. Among other things, he said that Wallace’s punches “had no pop”, that Wallace’s wide hands “diminished power at the point of attack”, and that Wallace “doesn’t have enough feel for positioning as a blocker”.

Despite his size and length, Wallace isn’t yet the heavy-handed blocker who can eliminate opponents with his anchor. He has developmental upside, but if he didn’t have adequate play strength in college, it will be tough for him to close the gap as he now makes a leap to even stronger competition in the NFL. If Wallace’s raw traits do enough for him in training camp, he could convince the Redskins to keep him around a little longer. But he needs to strengthen his process, as well as his arms.