Survey shows NFL scouts are divided on who draft’s top offensive tackle is

Offensive tackle is arguably the deepest position group in the 2024 NFL Draft, but trying to decipher which player exactly is the best at the position isn’t an easy task.

Yahoo Sports polled eight NFL scouts at the NFL Combine back in March to see if there was a consensus top prospect at each position with those scouts being divided over which of four tackle prospects was the best.

Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga got most of the votes with three, followed by Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu each with two votes and Georgia’s Amarius Mims with one vote.

“Fuaga may end up the first tackle selected when this is all said and done,” NFL writer Charles McDonald wrote. “Scouts like his nasty streak and he has had a big week in terms of interviews, giving him an edge over the other top guys up to this point. Alt, Fashanu and Mims all were met with positive feelings toward their play, but Fuaga is the top dog for now. Expect all of these guys to be off the board well before the first round ends.”

The scouts’ answers aren’t quite consistent with ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s current position rankings in which he has Alt first, Alabama’s JC Latham second, Fashanu third and Fuaga fourth (he has Mims ranked sixth.)

Conversely, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah has Alt as his No. 1-rated tackle in his recent prospect rankings followed by Fuaga, Washington's Troy Fautanu, Fashanu, Latham and Mims. He had Fuaga and Alt flip-flopped in his March rankings.