Assessing Redskins first-round options: Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs
By Ian Cummings
How Tristan Wirfs fits the Redskins
These slides sometimes seem redundant. It’s pretty clear how Wirfs fits the Redskins. The Redskins need a left tackle, and Wirfs is one of the best offensive tackle prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft.
That said, it’s worth it to go over his translatability concern one more time. Wirfs was primarily a right tackle in college, so there is some uncertainty around asking him to suddenly switch to the left side full-time. But Wirfs, unlike fellow right tackle Jedrick Wills, has some tape at left tackle. He played left tackle for a few games in 2019, while the team’s original starter Alaric Jackson recovered from an injury. Wirfs played left tackle, and he thrived there.
Wirfs doesn’t have the most all-encompassing length, but he’s an elite athlete with the ability to position himself appropriately and subsequently maximize his functional strength. He’s an incredibly smooth blocker on the outside, and his tape at left tackle showed that his ability, in that regard, goes both ways.
Wirfs was already putting together high-quality reps at left tackle, and as his understanding of hand usage and positioning grows more refined at the professional level, he should only continue to improve. Wirfs is a scheme-versatile offensive lineman who has the traits to play where any team needs him. For the Redskins, that’s left tackle.