Player: Cody Mauch

School: North Dakota State

Measurables:

• Height: 6’5”(NFL Combine)
• Weight: 302(NFL Combine)

• 40: 5.08(NFL Combine)
• 10 Yard Split: 1.79(NFL Combine)
• Bench: 29(NFL Combine)
• Vertical Jump: 29”(NFL Combine)
• Broad Jump: 9’(NFL Combine)
• 3 Cone: 7.33(NFL Combine)
• 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.55(NFL Combine)
• Other Notes: Mauch tested pretty well at the combine. I have to be honest, I thought he was going to blow the combine testing out of the water though. I thought he was going to be near the top of nearly every athletic test. It’s probably because he’s a converted TE, but it really wasn’t a bad day overall. His bench was better than I thought it was going to be. It makes me feel a bit better about teams trying to move him inside.

Graded Offensive Line Traits:

• First-Level Run Blocking: 6/10
• Second-Level Run Blocking: 5/10
• Pass Blocking: 6.5/10
• Blitz/Stunt Pickup: 4.75/10
• Pulling(if applicable): NA/10
• Footwork: 8.5/10
• Hands: 7.25/10
• Initial Contact: 6.25/10

Prospect Grade: 44.25/70; 63.2%- Good starter with high ceiling. Potential depends on his development

Projected Draft Day: Late Round 1- Early Round 2

Player Comparison: Bernhard Raimann

Player Summary:

Cody Mauch was a player that no one really knew about until Senior Bowl week. Since then, he’s been the talk of the town and jumping into first round mock drafts like crazy. He played for FCS power house North Dakota State, who always seems to have some sort of hidden gem that gets discovered around this time: Carson Wentz, Trey Lance, and Christian Watson just to name a few.

If you don’t know Mauch’s story, he was a QB, TE, and DE in high school. He went to NDSU as a walk-on TE. He redshirted in 2017 and was a depth piece at offensive line as a freshman in 2018. In 2019 as a sophomore, Mauch was given two jerseys. One so he could be a backup tackle, and one so he could be the TE on a 6-man offensive line. Mauch then as a junior was moved full time to tackle and became a starter. 

When you watch Mauch’s tape you can very clearly tell he was a TE or at least I could. His lack of experience at offensive tackle would show itself in his tape every once in a while. That’s not even a negative though. To me when a player like this, who has only been playing his position for a short time, comes out it’s more of a positive because it means they are raw and have the potential to be developed through your coaching and into your scheme. He does have inconsistent tape, but it happens to even the best of prospects. 

Despite only playing tackle for two full years, I felt like Mauch was one of the most technically sound offensive line prospects I’ve watched this year so far. Obviously, Mauch has some “flaws” in his game, but they can be developed, I think it’s just the inexperience. One of the notes I have is that I would like to see him stand stronger in pass protection. His kick slide footwork looks good, but sometimes I feel like he just slides too far. I would like to see him plant and stand his ground. I think working with a pro strength and condition coach will be the best thing for him. The other note I have is that when he releases off the line to get to second level blocks he runs at them like he’s running a route, and will occasionally miss the block. He needs to learn to break down under control to put himself in a better position to make and secure his blocks.

One of my “bigger picture” questions is, how will his game translate when he starts going up against higher caliber players. Mauch played at the FCS level where he did look dominant. The only FBS opponent they played this season was Arizona. Mauch looked good in that game, but Arizona also isn’t a football powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. Mauch looked good at the Senior Bowl, so I guess that helps answer the question, but that was a small sample size. He also worked at guard and center at the Senior Bowl, but personally I would be worried about kicking him inside. He’s only 303 lbs and I have some worry about his strength level. Right now, I think his skillset and build is built more for tackle than not. It’s possible I’m wrong, but time will tell.