NFL’s latest trio of big-money tackle contracts reveal a surprising truth about what really matters when passing through the NFL Draft
The latest big contracts at offensive tackle offer clues for what really matters when scouting the position in the NFL Draft.
The NFL’s newest stretch of paid offensive tackles is trying to tell you something. It’s a great time to be a young, athletic offensive tackle in today’s game — with the Green Bay Packers’ Zach Tom, the Los Angeles Chargers' Rashawn Slater, and the Indianapolis Colts’ Bernhard Raimann all cashing in over the course of the last few weeks on contracts valued between $22 million and $28.5 million per season.
The beauty of offensive line play is also that there’s a plethora of ways to get the job done. The trio of Tom, Slater, and Raimann do well to embody the diverse backgrounds that offensive linemen can come from, too. Yet there’s a common thread that can be drawn between all three players, a key overlap that could, potentially, help you to focus on the right stuff when evaluating the next round of offensive tackles to enter the fray via the NFL Draft.
Arm length & wingspan are threshold measurements for tackles
It really is an awesome trio of paths to success. Tom played center for his first two seasons at Wake Forest as a 2-star out of Baton Rouge. Raimann was wide receiver, then a tight end, and then finally settling at offensive tackle at Central Michigan — he didn’t play his 500th snap on the offensive line until his senior season in 2021. Then there’s Slater, the tackle-exclusive star prospect who opted out of the COVID-19 pandemic season in 2020 and was subjected to endless discourse about the need to kick inside in the pros.
Spoiler alert: he turned out okay at tackle.
All three have. They serve as the latest wave of NFL tackles that should be challenging your norms of offensive line play in today’s game. Because there’s some common threads between their profiles that, at the time, were considered big turnoffs. All three do not boast “prototypical” length.
– Slater: 33” arms (12th percentile for offensive tackles since 1999)
– Tom: 33.25” arms (18th percentile)
– Raimann: 32.88” arms (9th percentile)
Their wingspans range from the 15th to the 21st percentile among offensive tackles since 1999, too. These are players with shorter edges than what teams traditionally prefer to see on the edges of their pockets. But all three make up for the lack of range in their first contact strike zone with elite athleticism traits and mobility — be that as a former college wide receiver, like Raimann, or being an elite athletic tester. Tom tested in at least the 90th percentile in every athletic test he competed in at the NFL Combine. Slater’s bucket was a bit deeper — he tested in at least the 80th percentile in every athletic measurement.
These college player evaluations are not a one-size fits all calculus. That’s what makes them hard. And in a league in which offensive line play is both paramount and at a premium, the league didn’t get these guys right, either. Had they been valued as they are now, with at least $88 million of commitments to each of them in new money, two-thirds of them would not have been drafted in the middle rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft. So the next time you get caught up in an offensive tackle prospect not having 33.5” arms or a below-average wingspan, take a look at the rest of the profile.
Are they intelligent? Are they elite athletes, including in the agility and change of direction performances? Are they explosive, linearly? Do they play with tenacity? If so, give them a little grace. Those are the ingredients that made Tom, Raimann, and Slater transcend the traditional length measurements of a successful offensive tackle and cash in with big votes of confidence going into 2025.
Colts give LT Bernhard Raimann a big extension, and the move adds clarity on a couple of their offseason decisions in the process
Just a few days after Bernhard Raimann expressed uncertainty about his ongoing contract negotiations, he and the Indianapolis Colts have reached an agreement. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo has reported that the Colts are signing their talented LT Raimann to a massive four-year, $100 million contract with $60 million guaranteed The Colts drafted Raimann in the third round […]
Contract details emerge and make the Packers look even smarter after their biggest offseason task is finally complete
Zach Tom is now under contract through 2029
