Azzopardi Draws First UW Accolades For Next Draft

With the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, 2027 mock drafts have been all the rage since the last player was selected last weekend in Pittsburgh.

Notably none of the looks into the future so far have included University of Washington players, with no one singled out as a first-rounder from a Husky team that might get a lot done next fall and appears to have plenty of star power.

However on Thursday, Drew Azzopardi emerged as the first player from Montlake to turn up on any early pro football prospect lists of any kind going forward -- ranking 10th among the best available offensive tackles, as determined by Pro Football Focus.

Certainly the senior from Pacific, California, is an experienced player by now with 30 college football starts at the UW and San Diego.

"This is my third year here and third year in the offense and so I feel like I just wanted to have a big role in the leadership because of that," he said. "I've experienced a lot of things in my career that a lot of young guys haven't."

The top offensive tackles in the 2027 NFL Draft 🧱 pic.twitter.com/o0BbsGfs2u
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 30, 2026

Indeed, Azzopardi ranks third among the Huskies at any position for game-opening assignments, with his 30 trailing only senior safety Alex McLaughlin, who has 36 at the UW and Northern Arizona and linebacker Jacob Manu, who has 30 at the UW and Arizona.

He's also bigger, too, filling out his 6-foot-7 frame frame with between 322 to 326 pounds, which is roughly 10 more than he played at last season.

And he's even more aggressive than before, recently seen in spring ball winding up and throwing a haymaker punch at edge rusher Logan George, who was wearing a helmet at the time.

"Football's a violent game and we compete and that's really it," he said of the hot-tempered moment.

He appears to have come a long a way since 2024, where he was part of a patched-together Husky offensive line and his six starts at San Diego State were the most among any of his teammates who had played at the FBS level.

The offensive line really suffered at times that season, opening up like a sieve in games against the better team such as Indiana, Penn State and Oregon.

Drew Azzopardi runs through a spring drill in Dempsey Indoor. | Dave Sizer photo

Yet Azzopardi now teaming up with formidable younger players such as John Mills, Champ Taulealea and Kodi Greene and older guys such as Landen and Geirean Hatchett has a much better chance to showcase his talents and consider a pro career.

Returning for a fifth college season was a no-brainer for him.

"It's been a huge part of my life," Azzopardi said, "and I wanted nothing more than to be back here another year."

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