Iowa’s Wirfs top-10 pick
EDITOR’S NOTE: One of a series of profiles of draft prospects whom the Broncos are believed to have interest.
Growing up in Mount Vernon, Iowa (pop. 4,435), it became clear early on to Tristan Wirfs that he was far bigger, stronger and more talented an athlete than the small town had ever seen.
In elementary school, the now-6foot-5, 320-pound tackle had to sit out during recess because teachers were worried about how much bigger he was than other kids. Those physical differences continued through high school, when Wirfs starred in football in addition to winning individual state titles in discus, shot put and wrestling.
Now widely projected as a top10 draft pick after starting for three seasons at Iowa, Wirfs is a versatile offensive lineman with sound technique. While scouts think he has room to improve in terms of his ability to finish blocks, draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network believes Wirfs is “somebody that has a chance to be an All-Pro guard.”
“He’s played tackle, he’s played on the right and the left,” Jeremiah said. “And he’s a good tackle. I think he can play tackle in the NFL. I also think he has a chance to be an elite guard.”
Wirfs said “it doesn’t matter to me too much” if he plays tackle or guard in the NFL though he played only the former at Iowa. As a product of a single-parent household — Wirfs lived with his mom, Sarah, in a trailer park as a small child — the lineman said the hard work his mother put in to give him opportunities to play sports continues to drive him.
“Growing up, I’d see her on the phone with her sister and she (started) crying about stuff like maybe bills, because she had to buy me a new baseball bat and buy
me baseball glove, cleats, something like that,” Wirfs said at the NFL combine. “As a kid, you don’t notice that. But as I got older, I figured it out. And I’m like, why would I make that go to waste? It motivates me.”
The 2019 second-team AP AllAmerican dazzled with his athleticism at the combine. His 36.5inch vertical jump was better than many skill players and he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.85 seconds — the fastest time by a 320pound-plus player since 2006.
Many mock drafts project Wirfs to be selected anywhere from the fourth to the 10th pick of the first round, with the Lions (No. 4) and the Cardinals (No. 8) as leading suitors. Denver, which has five picks in the first three rounds, gets its first selection at No. 15 so it would probably have to move up in order to draft Wirfs.