Tanor Bortolini, IOL Wisconsin: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Bortolini was a three-star recruit from Kewaunee High School in Kewaunee, Wis. in the class of 2020

Wisconsin offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini has played four positions along the line for the Badgers and should be a nice day three addition in the 2024 NFL Draft. Expect teams to target linemen heavily this year as they try to combat the pass protection crisis and counter increasingly skilled edge rushers.

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Tanor Bortolini, IOL Wisconsin: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior center from Kewaunee, Wis.

Background: Bortolini was a three-star recruit from Kewaunee High School in Kewaunee, Wis. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 953 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,010 for On3.com. Bortolini was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 76 grade out of 100. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association awarded him First Team All-State honors on offense and honorable mention status on defense in 2019. Bortolini was his conference’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He was the Packerland Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year twice. MaxPreps credited him with 131 tackles, including 27 for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries over his final two high school seasons. Bortolini also participated in basketball and baseball.

Injuries & Off-Field: Suffered a knee injury in 2021 August practice, missed Illinois State and Washington State games in 2022 after surgery for partially torn meniscus and damaged cartilage behind his knee cap

Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten

Pros: Experience playing left guard, center, right guard, and right tackle, form in pass pro at guard is consistent rep-to-rep, maintains wide base, keeps feet engaged, good awareness to support his teammates, quick to redirect when he sees other threats, decent pop in his hands when he lands the first punch, examples of framing blocks well, replaces hands quickly, comes with a mean streak, fires low out of his stance in the run game, keeps legs churning, some success sealing defenders on down blocks, hustles to get downfield and help his running backs, nice mobility to execute long pulls, good GPS on pulls and climbs, impressive linear athlete, high motor player

Cons: Committed five penalties in 2022, arm length, arm length was a deciding factor on several plays against Oklahoma State (2022), pad level rises quickly in pass pro, allows defenders into his chest, out-leveraged because of wide hands and pad level, hands are predictable and held too far out in front of him, hands are easy targets for defensive linemen, vulnerable to push-pull moves, quick losses to Jer'Zhan Newton swim move (2022), power game is lacking, blown backward at the point of attack, struggles to dig out stout interior players, doesn’t generate significant displacement, occasionally slips and ends up on the turf, gets over his skis in the run game

Overview: Bortolini has experience playing left guard, center, right guard, and right tackle. He lacks the arm length to play outside in the NFL, which showed up in several losses to Oklahoma State defensive linemen in 2022. Bortolini’s form in pass protection at guard is consistent rep-to-rep, but his pad level rises too quickly. He also makes the mistake of allowing defenders into his chest. The combination of a high pad level and wide hands lead to Bortolini being out-leveraged. His hands are predictable and held too far out in front of him, making them easy targets for defensive linemen to swat. The redshirt junior maintains a wide base and keeps his feet engaged throughout the play. He showcases good awareness to support his teammates. Bortolini is quick to redirect when he sees threats and has the athletic ability to cut off secondary rushers. He offers decent pop in his hands when he lands the first punch and replaces his hands quickly. Bortolini frames blocks well, but elite players like Jer'Zhan Newton (2022) can beat him quickly. The center/guard hybrid is vulnerable to push-pull moves. He plays with a mean streak but lacks NFL-caliber power. Bortolini is blown backward at the point of attack. He fires low out of his stance in the run game but struggles to dig out stout interior players. He keeps his legs churning but doesn’t generate significant displacement. The Wisconsin native has some success sealing defenders on down blocks. He hustles to get downfield and help his running back. Bortolini’s mobility shines on long pulls. His internal GPS leads him to second level defenders. Bortolini is an impressive linear athlete with a hot motor, but he gets over his skis in the run game and ends up on the turf.

Overall, Bortolini has impressive mobility and plays with a mean streak, but his hand usage and play strength are lacking. Bortolini doesn’t project as a first or second year starter in the NFL. Kicking inside to center full-time will mitigate some of the concerns with his power and arm length.

Role & Scheme Fit: Backup center or guard in a gap or outside zone scheme

Round Projection: Sixth Round

Size: 6'4", 310 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 09-15-23