With the 2023 NFL Draft fast approaching, who are the top 10 OTs in the class? There’s an abundance of tackle talent in the early rounds, but the top overall positional prospect will ultimately depend on preference. On PFN’s Big Board, who comes away with the highest rank?
Top 10 OTs in the 2023 NFL Draft
10) Tyler Steen, Alabama
Alabama has a long, illustrious history when it comes to producing quality NFL offensive tackle talent. Tyler Steen likely won’t be the first-round selection we’ve been accustomed to seeing from the Crimson Tide, but it’s not unlikely that we’ll see him start games down the line.
Steen has NFL size at 6’6″, 321 pounds, and complements it with impressive athleticism and foot speed off the line. He can play with more control and more measured leverage at times — a side-effect of non-elite length — but the flashes of balance and hand usage are tantalizing for developers.
9) Wanya Morris, Oklahoma
As far as natural right tackles go, Wanya Morris is one of the more underrated talents in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s not as refined as Wright, but he has one of the highest ceilings in the 2023 class, and his natural tools should fuel excitement among NFL OL coaches.
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At 6’5″, 307 pounds, with arms over 35″, Morris is a quick accelerator and a heavy-handed fighter off the line, with a documented 1.73 10-yard split and a 9’3″ broad jump. Morris can still be more controlled at times, but his mix of mobility, power, and flexibility culminates in an astronomical ceiling.
8) Matthew Bergeron, Syracuse
Few tackles went through a greater gauntlet than Syracuse’s Matthew Bergeron across the 2022 campaign. The Orange offensive tackle played three potential first-round picks in Myles Murphy, Isaiah Foskey, and 2024 prospect Jared Verse. And while he didn’t emerge unscathed, he showed off his potential.
Hailing from Canada, Bergeron has some of the most enticing short-area athleticism in the 2023 NFL Draft OT group. You don’t often get to call tackles energetic movers, but that’s exactly what Bergeron is. He can get stronger and more disciplined with his technique, but he can match anyone, and he’s 6’5″, 318 pounds, with near-34″ arms to boot.
7) Cody Mauch, North Dakota State
The FCS is good for at least one quality offensive line prospect each cycle, and in the 2023 NFL Draft process, the headliner has been Cody Mauch of North Dakota State. Though he’s overaged and a bit underweight, Mauch has early-round ability and could be a starter at tackle or guard.
I’m of the mind that Mauch has enough athleticism, ease of motion, and hand independence to stay at tackle, but his explosiveness, finishing power, and physicality would be particularly inspiring on the interior.
6) Dawand Jones, Ohio State
Quite literally, Dawand Jones towers over his counterparts in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s 6’8″, 374 pounds, with 36 3/8″ arms. His wingspan is the largest ever recorded in the NFL, and that sheer reach makes him a near-impenetrable obstacle for opposing edge rushers.
Jones’ size alone is a generational trait, but he also shows glimpses of quality footwork, sequential hand usage, and knee bend for his size. He’s naturally not quick off the line, and he’s not smooth in recovery, but he has the power and displacement capacity to be a sturdy right tackle.
5) Peter Skoronski, Northwestern
The discussion around Peter Skoronski remains polarizing, even as the 2023 NFL Draft looms. He’s a top collegiate performer with a pedigree of success and near-elite athleticism. But his size profile — 6’4″, 313 pounds, with 32″ arms — has been a source of controversy.
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Skoronski’s lacking length does visibly limit his power capacity, and it’s not always an easy thing to counteract against larger defenders. But Skoronski’s ability to stay leveraged so consistently is rare. He has phenomenal footwork and combative hands, and his profile gives him high-level starting upside at multiple spots on the line.
4) Darnell Wright, Tennessee
PFN had an early-round grade on Darnell Wright heading into the season, and he did nothing but validate that grade in 2022 while earning first-team All-SEC honors. Wright is now a potential top-five tackle and arguably the best natural right tackle in the 2023 NFL Draft.
A former five-star recruit, Wright is a gargantuan spectacle at 6’5″, 333 pounds. He almost looks impossibly big for a human, and then you watch him move, use his violent, calculated hands, and torque defenders into submission. He can lock down the right side at the next level.
3) Broderick Jones, Georgia
Broderick Jones was an early candidate to take a leap across the 2022 campaign. While he didn’t undergo enough refinement as desired, Jones did show more than enough to solidify his place as a likely first-round OT in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Another tackle with five-star pedigree, Jones has all the tools. He’s 6’5″, 315 pounds, with massive near-35″ levers for arms. On top of his size and weight distribution, Jones is explosive in space, incredibly balanced in recovery, strong at the point, and a relentless finisher.
2) Anton Harrison, Oklahoma
Anton Harrison is consistently listed as a top-five offensive tackle, and yet, he still might be a bit underrated in the eyes of the consensus. In our final top 10 offensive tackles list, Harrison remains the second-ranked blocker and a surefire first-round prospect — an endorsement of his high-level 2022 tape.
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Like most here, Harrison passes the eye test at 6’4″, 315 pounds, with near-35″ arms. He has good burst, matching ability, and range as a puller. But Harrison takes things a step further as a pass protector, compounding his appeal with independent hand usage, superb footwork, leverage maintenance, torque, and gnawing physicality.
1) Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State
In the midseason edition of the top 10 offensive tackles list, Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu was our OT1. He ultimately returned to school for the 2024 NFL Draft cycle, leaving the OT1 mantle up for grabs. On our board, Paris Johnson Jr. now has that honor.
Johnson isn’t quite as clean as you’d like your top tackle to be, but he has everything in his toolbox. He’s the most explosive tackle in the class at 6’6″, 313 pounds, with 36″ arms and elite power capacity. He’s incredibly flexible, alert, and tenacious in all phases.
Honorable Mentions
- Blake Freeland, BYU
- Jaelyn Duncan, Maryland
- Carter Warren, Pitt
- John Ojukwu, Boise State
- Nick Saldiveri, Old Dominion
- Warren McClendon, Georgia
- Earl Bostick Jr., Kansas
- Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, Oregon
- Asim Richards, North Carolina
- Connor Galvin, Baylor
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