Love or hate the transfer portal, it is here to stay and there are several perks to it from an NFL evaluation perspective. The obvious? How well do players adjust to a new environment and system? After all, that is exactly what they will need to do as they jump to the NFL and it is one of the causes of a player not performing well once they make that jump. Arguably the best perk to the portal in this regard is watching a player level up in addition to the change of scenery. That is exactly what will happen in that jump to the league and this is a key reason why projecting talent to the NFL is so difficult and a far cry from science.
We just saw Cam Ward go number one overall after leveling up not once, but twice. He began his career at Incarnate Word before ending his career in the ACC and nearly winning the Heisman Trophy. Wide Receiver Matthew Golden leveled up to the SEC from Houston and ended up a first rounder to Green Bay. Left Tackle Josh Simmons began his career at San Diego State and then put a year and a half of quality tape together in the Big Ten for the eventual national champions and landed in the first round despite a season ending injury to his knee early in the season. The point is, these jumps in level of competition can check a box for the evaluation process that others cannot.
Isaiah World is next. Following a four-year career at Nevada which included 35 starts, Oregon came calling as they looked to replace not one, but two starting tackles including first rounder Josh Conerly. After a less than stellar group of pure left tackles in the 2025 class, World is among a handful of potential prospects who could credibly project to the top ten next year if he responds well to the jump in competition. Let’s take a look where he stands with the four most important traits a tackle must have at the next level.
Athleticism. World has the kind of foot quickness and twitch that is necessary to adjust his weight and win the game of inches. He gets on and off the ground in a hurry with short, choppy steps that cover a lot of ground in a hurry. It was hard to find speed-based losses in the two games I watched (Boise State and Colorado State).
Power. While not all teams will value this trait the same, it should be known this will be World’s fifth year in college. Youth does matter when projecting a lineman and his potential strength gains. He will not be among the youngest at the position and the recurring question I had from his tape was the ability to maintain power after initial contact. He was not bullying anybody and that will be the trait to watch now that he is in the Big Ten with Penn State on the schedule in September.
Size. While I do not want to guess on exact measurements just yet, he is listed at 6’8” / 309 pounds. If the arm length is there and he is even close to that height-weight combination, he will fit right into the “prototype” tier. His lower body thickness is impressive and his hands appear to be big and strong. While we did just see an all-time small (length and wingspan) left tackle go #4 overall to New England (Will Campbell), size is still a key factor in the evaluation process and he may receive the highest possible grade there.
Body Control. Flexibility can be thrown into this part of the discussion because of how much it impacts a blocker’s ability to maintain proper positioning. Simply put, can he bend at the knees with proper ankle flexion and an upright torso? It is hard to block what you cannot see and a tackle’s anchor is very much dependent on that lower body engagement. World’s ability to play with autonomous hands and feet stand out but there is some unstable movement that needs to improve.
World’s 2025 season will be a make or break for him. There is a path to him being a top ten pick next April but it will require improvement from his 2024 tape against the toughest schedule of pass rushers he has ever been up against. He has tools that very few can touch but as we always say, if you want a top ten projection the production needs to be right there with those tools. This will be the opportunity of a lifetime as he puts together a season of tape for a national champion contender.