As we finally transition from the college football season into the 2023 NFL Draft, it’s time to refocus on a couple guys who broke out this past year. As we’ve seen in recent years, there are many guys who pick up immense traction with NFL teams from January to April and end up going much higher than expected.

With draft season barely getting underway, who better to start evaluations with than Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson, who already seems like an obvious candidate to pick up steam over the next three months.

Strengths:

From a physical perspective, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better edge prospect than Wilson this year. While his 6-foot-6, 275-pound build will be the main point of discussion, the ability to translate his traits into actual production is what will ultimately get him drafted early.

Wilson plays with a combination of three major traits: power, length and speed. His 35 5/8” arm length ranks in the 98th percentile and pops off the screen at first glance.

His ability to convert speed to power is top tier, and his bull rush is as good as any prospect you’ll see in recent years. It typically only takes him one or two steps to gain leverage on a tackle and generate enough power to drive them back. Even when he doesn’t beat the tackle straight up, Wilson often manages to collapse the pocket enough to at least have some impact on the play.

From a versatility standpoint, Wilson plays the run at a high level off the edge and can win inside at a relatively high rate both against the pass and run, which significantly raises the floor of what he has to offer. It wouldn’t be shocking to see a team experiment with sliding him in at 3T on passing downs while he continues to develop outside counters.

Weaknesses:

As easy as it is to hype up Wilson’s bull rush, at a certain point you do have to question how much more he has to his game. It often seems as though he goes in with little to no plan as a pass rusher and relies on sheer athleticism and high motor to bail him out, which inevitably won’t translate to the next level. Wilson often lacks answers to basic adjustments by tackles, which begs the question of how big the learning curve will be for him heading into the pros.

Small sample size, but an example of Wilson’s lack of explosiveness at the snap.

Wilson’s movement appears unnatural at first glance, feeling much less explosive than you’d hope from a top draft pick. Calling him stiff feels like an exaggeration, but at the very least Wilson will need to become more fluid and drastically improve his burst off the line before he becomes a major contributor in the big leagues.

The Numbers:

– 50 pressures

– 11.8 pass rush productivity rating (fourth among all FBS edge rushers)

– 22% win rate (sixth among FBS edge rushers)

Verdict:

Despite room to grow as a pass rusher, Tyree Wilson evidently has the traits to become a productive every down EDGE in the NFL. With his size and length, there shouldn’t be a shortage of ways for defensive coordinators to get him involved. In a world where Travon Walker, whose draft profile bares many similarities to Wilson’s, can go first overall, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of Wilson going in the top five to 10 range.

Ideal NFL Comp:

Somewhere in the range of Logan Hall to Arik Armstead. Physically dominant players who have the flexibility to slide inside on third downs.

Projection:

Top 10. It’s hard to go wrong with a player of Wilson’s physical profile, even at the expense of a top 10 pick. His versatility adds more insurance that he can still at least be a productive NFL player at his floor.