Joe Tippman

The rare center built like a tackle, the 6’6 Tippmann was a two year starter for Wisconsin.

Considering his size, he’s an impressive athlete that has both lateral agility and speed to block on the move. He can handle burst and twitch with quick reactions throughout pass protection.

At times, his hands are way too wide and his punch wraps around his targets. At his height, leverage can be a battle play by play. It simply takes him longer and with more effort to establish adequate pad level on a defender. His overall play strength and awareness against blitzes and stunts is very good.

The leverage war carries over to the run game, where drive blocking or flat out sustaining blocks lacks consistency. He’s tremendous at getting out of the gate and working to his assignment, but what happens when he arrives is high variance. At times he ducks his helmet first, allowing defenders to slip blocks around his waist.

Overall, there aren’t a ton of centers in the history of the NFL listed at Tippmann’s height. It’s a position that demands the ability to play low and drive the pile. He’s excellent from an IQ standpoint and moves well in the open field, but his question marks are often exposed at the next level. He’s also had two shoulder surgeries throughout his college career which will need to be monitored closely.

In an ideal world he’s a draft and develop player, but it’s unlikely he walks into that situation considering his current projections.

Tippmann had a pre-draft visit with the Jets.