2023 NFL Draft Round 2: Buccaneers select offensive lineman Cody Mauch

The first round of the NFL Draft was a successful one for the Buccaneers with the selection of defensive lineman Calijah Kancey. Now as they turned their attention to Round 2, Tampa Bay began the process of plugging in quality players that can usually crack the starting lineup. And they may have been able to do just that after trading up to the No. 48 spot.

With the 48th overall pick, the Bucs select offensive lineman Cody Mauch.

Here is what Bucs Nation’s Chris Weingarten had to say when breaking down Mauch:

Red hair, two front teeth knocked out, plays to, and through, the whistle. Sounds like we found Ryan Jensen’s long-lost brother. I imagine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do draft Cody Mauch, Jensen would be a great mentor for Mauch to latch onto. Mauch projects more so as a guard than a tackle in the NFL, which is similar to Jensen’s experience, as he moved from tackle to guard, and eventually found his place at center. Mauch could learn from Jensen, Leverett, Hainsey, and the rest of the o-line during his first few years as a pro and would be a good fit for Dave Canales’s run first offense in the years to come.

Strengths:

• A smooth athlete, who is light on his feet, and has great mobility and balance.
• Plays with toughness and physicality that is required for an offensive lineman.
• Is able to sustain blocks on the first, and second level.
• Finishes well as a run blocker.
• Effective communicator on pre-snap reads, and blitz pickup.
• Has elite lateral movement, is effective in space, and can drop hips to get leverage on shorter defenders.
• Has a decent pop in his initial punch on pass sets, and in run blocking.

Weaknesses:

• Has very short arms, which can be a detriment when playing tackle in the NFL.
• Bends from the waist too much, and doesn’t play with ideal power, or strength.
• Gets caught dropping his head and struggles to stay engaged, especially at the second level.
• Sometimes can heel-click in pass protection and gets overpowered by a strong bull rush when defenders get under his pads.
• Has too elevated of a strike point when getting into double teams.
• Hands tend to get grabby, and outside of the shoulders, when he is losing in the early stages of a play.