NFL draft hopefuls Wirfs, Biadasz highlight Iowa-Wisconsin game

If your team needs an offensive lineman, then today’s matchup between No. 18 Iowa at No. 13 Wisconsin is must-see TV.

Both programs routinely crank out NFL-ready offensive linemen, and this year is no different.

Iowa has a pair of offensive tackles who will likely play on Sundays in RT Tristan Wirfs and LT Alaric Jackson. Wirfs, at 6-foot-5, 322 pounds, is projected to go in the first round, potentially high.

He’s had to play both tackle positions, as teammate and OT bookend Jackson has missed time with injury. Jackson sprained his knee 15 plays into the first game of the season, then missed the next three games.

Wisconsin also has a pair of highly touted linemen: LT Cole Van Lanen and C Tyler Biadasz. Van Lanen (6-foot-5, 312 pounds) was rated as the No. 1 offensive tackle by Pro Football Focus in 2018. Biadasz (6-foot-3, 322 pounds) Is widely regarded as one of the top center prospects in the upcoming draft.

It’s also possible that one or more of those players could return next season, as all are juniors.

Of the four, Biadasz (No. 76) and Wirfs (No. 3) cracked the top-100 of The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

“Whether at left or right tackle, run blocking or pass protection, Wirfs has been consistently effective, working hard to reset and stay square to defenders through the whistle,” Brugler writes.