Fresh off being named an All-Pro for the second consecutive season, Bucs right tackle Tristan Wirfs is focused on becoming one of the elite tackles in the NFL that only come around every so often. There are great tackles, and then there are the generational guys. Forrest Gregg. Joe Thomas. Jonathan Ogden. Count Wirfs as wanting to be one of them. Although he was beaten out by Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson for the first-team selection this year, Wirfs has nothing but respect for Johnson’s continued excellence.

“I think it’s pretty cool, especially [being an] All-Pro,” Wirfs said after the selections were announced. “It’s like being recognized as one of the best at your position. First-team would have been cool, but Lane Johnson has been balling this year, so I figured he was going to get it. He’s had a really good past two years, but it’s really cool to get that kind of recognition.”

Bucs RT Wirfs Has Sights On Johnson’s Sackless Streak

Late last month, Wirfs started talking to Johnson after tagging him in a tweet. The tweet is a scatterplot illustrating their similar season-long dominance. Not only does Wirfs salute Johnson, but he also has his sights on an NFL record Johnson set this season. 

“This one guy tweets stuff, it’s like that scatterplot or whatever, and Lane and I have been at the top,” Wirfs said. “I tagged him in it a couple of weeks ago and he replied. I just messaged him in the DM’s, and I was like, ‘Congrats on a great year.’

“When he got the streak, the 27-game streak without a sack, that’s when I messaged him. I was like, ‘Congrats, that’s sick, I really look up to you and everything.’ I’ve only talked to him a couple of times, but I’ve looked up to him for a long time.”

When asked if this streak is a goal of his, Wirfs replied:

“Oh, 100%. As soon as I saw what it was, 27 games, I was going to be shooting for that. I feel like just looking up to him, he’s been an incredible right tackle for so long, I feel like that’s the standard. I want to keep that up.”

Bucs RT Wirfs Deserves To Be In Best Tackle Discussion

When debating the best tackles in the game in recent years, Tyron Smith, Trent Williams, and Johnson are often the first brought up. Now, Wirfs is right among those who he once used to look up on Google.

“It’s really cool, I’ve looked [up to] just a few. Trent Williams, Tyron Smith, and Lane Johnson, those guys. I remember when I was a kid looking up Jonathan Ogden on Google because I knew he threw Shot put at UCLA. Just looking up to those guys and seeing all of them, and now being in the NFL playing alongside them is just incredible, it’s an incredible feeling.”

Bucs QB Tom Brady and RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If Wirfs can have or surpass a career like Ogden’s, he might go down as the best tackle in NFL history. While Ogden was named a first-team All-Pro at the age of 23, Wirfs got that distinction at only 22. Ogden, the career Raven, would become an 11-time Pro Bowler and a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee. At his current trajectory, Wirfs is well on his way to a similar path to Canton, Ohio.

While these selections are not the end-all-be-all, there are not many popular statistics for linemen to accumulate. They are not gaining yards or scoring touchdowns. Their battles are in the trenches on every down to set other guys on the team up to get them instead.

Wirfs remained selfless in discussing the recognition:

“I think it’s really cool. Last year I didn’t really understand how big of a deal it was. It’s incredible, you know, I wouldn’t be able to do it without all these guys in this locker room. Really, really thankful for it.”

The Bucs are thankful for Wirfs, as the offense would not have been as productive without him the past few seasons. As time goes on, one can be sure Wirfs will do everything to keep up his elite standard of play as one of the best tackles in the NFL.