Buccaneers' Tristan Wirfs Dethroned as NFL's Best Tackle in Yearly League Rankings

Is Tampa Bay Buccaneers LT Tristan Wirfs no longer the best in the NFL?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle Tristan Wirfs (78) before the start of the game against the New England Patriots | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has made some home run picks during his tenure as Bucs GM, including his very first one when he picked Mike Evans in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

But no draft pick he's ever made might be better than when he picked tackle Tristan Wirfs in 2020.

Wirfs was instrumental to Tampa Bay's Super Bowl run in 2020 and has since become one of the NFL's most dominant players. He's the only player in NFL history to be named a First Team All-Pro at both right and left tackle, and he is still Tampa Bay's best player as the team heads into 2026.

Wirfs came into 2025 after an All-Pro campaign the previous year, and as a result, he was named the No. 1 tackle in the NFL by anonymous coaches, executives and scouts on Jeremy Fowler's annual ESPN list. The beginning of his year didn't go to plan, though, and as a result, he's dropped a bit in this year's rankings.

Tristan Wirfs Falls From No. 1 to No. 3 in NFL Position Rankings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (78) blocks for wide receiver Sterling Shepard (17) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wirfs missed five games in 2025, spending the first four absent while recovering from a clean-up surgery on his knee. As a result, he was a little slow to hit the ground again last year, and that may be a reason why he was not named the No. 1 tackle in the league once again by NFL brass.

Fowler's league rankings had Wirfs at No. 3 in the league this year behind Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell and San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams.

One NFL coordinator told Fowler that one definitive moment he noticed Wirfs dropping off was when Wirfs faced off against New Orleans Saints edge rusher Chase Young in 2025, who got the better of him.

"When I saw Chase Young beating him off the edge pretty clearly, I was like, 'That's new,'" an NFL coordinator said, per Fowler.

One executive, however, is looking toward the future. The executive noted that Wirfs still likely has his best football ahead of him, even while he remains a top-three tackle in football.

"He makes the very difficult look extremely easy... There's probably another level he can still get to. Still so much untapped potential," the NFC executive said.

Wirfs will (hopefully) be entering 2026 healthy, so he should get tuned up right away for the regular season. He'll also have starting guard Ben Bredeson alongside him, which should allow him to freely play his game against opposing defenders.

If Wirfs is healthy, it's hard to imagine that he won't go out and produce like he does every year, and he could be primed to take that No. 1 ranking right back.

Wirfs and the rest of the Buccaneers' squad will report for training camp on July 28.

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