Germain Ifedi selected by Seattle with No. 31 pick in 2016 NFL Draft

Germain Ifedi became the fourth consecutive Texas A&M offensive tackle to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night when he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks.

Previously, Luke Joeckel was taken second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013, Jake Matthews was picked sixth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2014 and Cedric Ogbuehi was selected 21st overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015.

The selection of Ifedi, who may play guard in the NFL, puts Texas A&M alongside USC as the only college football programs to have offensive linemen taken in the first round of four consecutive drafts.

USC tackle Anthony Munoz (Cincinnati) and guard Brad Budde (Kansas City) were first round picks in 1980, followed by tackle Keith Van Horne (Chicago) in 1981, guard Roy Foster (Miami) in ’82 and center Don Mosebar (Oakland) in ’83.

Ifedi excelled while playing guard for A&M in 2013. He moved out to right tackle in 2014 and returned for the 2015 season in hopes of improving his draft status.

Although he appeared to struggle at tackle last season, that strategy obviously worked.

NFL scouts measured Ifedi at 6-5 ¾ and weighed him in at 324 pounds. He also has long arms that are so important in pass blocking at the NFL level.

Though scouts acknowledged he needed more polish, they loved his potential.

The scouting report on Ifedi praised his size, quick feet, balance and hand work. It also said he plays smart and with a mean streak.

However, the report also said he needed to improve on run blocking, which was largely attributed to playing much of his collegiate career in an A&M scheme that positioned linemen in a two-point stance. It said he tended to lunge too much in run blocking and was inconsistent.

Yet, Ifedi still showed so much upside that he was rated the No. 5 offensive tackle in the draft behind Ole Miss’ Laremy Tunsil, Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley, Michigan State’s Jack Conklin and Ohio State’s Taylor Decker.

Ifedi was projected as a likely second round pick who could climb into the late first round to a team that was sound in most areas but had a need for offensive linemen.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay in his latest mock draft had projected to Ifedi to the Denver Broncos with the last pick in first round.