With the NFL Draft quickly approaching, several Badgers are preparing for their name to be called on draft night, with offensive lineman Tyler Biadasz among them.
Biadasz, a 6-foot-3-inch, 321-pound lineman, hails from Amherst, Wisconsin, where he played as a defensive lineman in football, along with playing for his high school’s basketball and baseball teams. Biadasz emerged from high school as a 3-star recruit but has become a dominant force on the Badgers’ offensive line since his redshirt freshman season in 2017.
Over the course of his career, Biadasz has started 41 games, all of which have been at center. As one of the best offensive linemen in the Big Ten, Biadasz paved the way for star running back and fellow draftee Jonathan Taylor, who broke the record for most rushing yards through a junior season.
Biadasz has earned numerous accolades during his collegiate career, including a unanimous first-team All-American selection (2019), a Rimington Trophy winner as the nation’s best center (2019), a third-team All-Big Ten selection (2017), a first-team All-Big Ten selection (2018 and 2019) and an Academic All-Big Ten selection (2017, 2018 and 2019). Biadasz also allowed just one sack across 390 pass plays in the 2019 season.
Biadasz’s dominance as an elite college offensive lineman cannot be questioned, but how his abilities will translate to the NFL is a question NFL scouts will attempt to answer in the next few months.
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Let’s take a look at Biadasz’s draft stock with the NFL Combine and NFL Draft quickly approaching.
As a former basketball and baseball player, Biadasz’s speed and agility truly stand out among other offensive linemen. Commended for his mobility as a blocking center, Biadasz has the advantage over other draft hopefuls due to his quickness, especially when it comes to run blocking.
Biadasz is also known for his durability as he started all 41 games across the three seasons he played for the Badgers. Unfortunately, Biadasz did require hip surgery last offseason, but the surgery did not seem to have a major impact on his play in 2019.
Biadasz’s run-blocking ability might be the best of any offensive lineman in the draft as he helped the Badgers average well over 200 yards per game across his three seasons at center.
His pass-blocking skills are also above average for a lineman of his size as the Wisconsin unit allowed only 65 sacks across 41 games from 2017-19, including the aforementioned one sack allowed by Biadasz in all of 2019. NFL Draft analysts have noted he may struggle at the NFL level as his lateral quickness is subpar compared to many defensive linemen in the league.
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Concerns about Biadasz’s balance have also been raised by draft analysts, as Biadasz frequently drops to his knees when overpowered, which would obviously happen more often in the NFL. He also has a tendency to lunge at defenders in the open field, something which may raise concern among NFL scouts before the NFL Combine and NFL Draft.
Biadasz hip surgery is also a concern for NFL teams when considering his potential as hip injuries are often a result of wear-and-tear in athletes. Biadasz’s hip injury resulted in more upper-body blocking — or getting leverage via his arms, not his legs — in 2019, causing him to be pushed back on passing plays when faced with stronger defenders during Big Ten play.
Wisconsin football has been known as a pipeline for future NFL offensive linemen for years, and compared to other linemen at the program, Biadasz ranks among the best in program history despite only playing for three seasons.
In a press release from after Biadasz was announced as the winner of the Rimington Trophy, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph explained what separates Biadasz from the rest.
“He’s intelligent, he has a tremendous work ethic, and he has proven himself to be an amazing leader for our team,” Rudolph said. “We couldn’t be more proud of the player and person he’s become, and I consider myself fortunate to have the chance to coach him.”
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While Wisconsin has produced one of the best offensive linemen in NFL history in Joe Thomas, Biadasz isn’t likely to reach his level. Instead, expect Biadasz to serve as a regular, above-average lineman in the NFL, similar to former Badgers like Ryan Ramczyk, Rob Havenstein and Kevin Zeitler.
Looking at Biadasz’s draft profile as a whole, it is clear he will be selected on either the first or second day (first-third rounds), barring an extremely poor performance in the NFL Combine or a major injury between now and the draft.
Most projections and mock drafts have Biadasz going in the late first round, including CBS Sports (No. 32 to the Chiefs and No. 26 to the Dolphins, according to two experts) and Bleacher Report (No. 30 to the Packers). My prediction, like those of many, is Biadasz hearing his name called either late on day one or early on day two.
NFL Draft Projection: Late 1st-Early 2nd Round
