Tampa Bay Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs remains one of the NFL’s premier offensive linemen. However, his grip on the top spot may have loosened following an injury-shortened 2025 season.
In ESPN’s annual survey of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts, Jeremy Fowler ranked Wirfs as the league’s third-best offensive tackle. While that remains elite company, it’s a step down after entering last season as the consensus No. 1 player at the position.
Injury Played a Major Role in Wirfs’ Slide
Fowler noted that Wirfs’ knee injury affected both his availability and his performance.
“Last year’s No. 1 battled a knee injury that cost him five games. He’s undoubtedly elite and one of the best size-and-agility athletes in the game. But evaluators saw uneven moments last season once he returned.”
One NFL coordinator admitted there were moments that stood out.
“When I saw Chase Young beating him off the edge pretty clearly, I was like, ‘That’s new.’”
Despite those observations, Wirfs still posted the third-highest pass block win rate among NFL tackles at 95.5 percent. His reputation around the league also remains exceptionally strong.
“He makes the very difficult look extremely easy,” an NFC executive told Fowler. “There’s probably another level he can still get to. Still so much untapped potential.”
One Season Shouldn’t Change Wirfs’ Standing
The biggest reason Wirfs slipped wasn’t because everyone viewed him differently. Instead, the voting showed how much opinions varied across the league.
According to Fowler, some evaluators ranked Wirfs as low as eighth among offensive tackles. Meanwhile, Penei Sewell, who claimed the top spot, never appeared lower than fourth on any ballot. That difference proved significant.
Several voters clearly weighed Wirfs’ injury-plagued season more heavily than others. Those who focused on his complete body of work continued ranking him among the league’s elite.
The overall voting also showed there isn’t complete agreement at the position. Twenty-two different offensive tackles received top-10 votes, highlighting just how subjective the rankings became beyond the very top tier.
A Healthy Season Could Put Wirfs Back on Top
Nothing about Wirfs’ career suggests his drop will become permanent. He still earned a Pro Bowl selection despite appearing in only 12 games. More importantly, his résumé remains unmatched.
Wirfs earned two All-Pro selections while playing right tackle. He then switched to left tackle and quickly added another All-Pro honor at an entirely different position. Very few offensive linemen have successfully made that transition. Fewer still have become elite on both sides of the line.
Reality CheckÂ
Lets be honest here. This is based on dozens of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts’ opinions. So there’s definitely a bias factor if not multiplier here. Aside from Wirfs’ injury, the only negative thing reported was Chase Young had a good game against him while Wirfs was coming back from the same injury.
Great analysis from the four-letter network. Maybe spend some of that Pat “Talking Belt Buckle” McAfee money on actual analysts instead of asking ChatGP and bias team employees. You could’ve even asked Mike Glennon’s backup Dan Orlovsky would he rather have one of the two guys ranked higher than Wirfs, or the guy that can play both tackle positions at an All-Pro level?
But I Digress…
If Wirfs returns healthy in 2026, there’s every reason to believe he’ll re-enter the conversation as the NFL’s top offensive tackle. One injury-affected season doesn’t erase everything he accomplished before it. It may simply serve as motivation for one of the league’s most talented offensive linemen to reclaim the spot he once held.
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