All Badgers

Wisconsin Badgers lineman will get chance to impress NFL scouts at East-West Shrine Bowl

The Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman has an important opportunity to boost his NFL Draft stock in front of scouts at the East-West Shrine Bowl college football all-star game.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Riley Mahlman (71) accepted his invitation to participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl in front of NFL scouts.
Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Riley Mahlman (71) accepted his invitation to participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl in front of NFL scouts. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Wisconsin Badgers

Riley Mahlman was looking to use the 2025 season as an opportunity to cement his NFL Draft stock as one of the better right tackles in college football.

One game into the season, he got flipped over to the left side, and it took time for him to adjust to his new role.

He didn't take the kind of step forward Wisconsin Badgers fans were looking for, but he'll have one more big opportunity to impress pro scouts this winter.

This week, Mahlman accepted his invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl, a college football all-star game scouted by all 32 NFL teams.

Sign Up For the Wisconsin Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Wisconsin Badgers Newsletter

Entering the 2025 season, Mahlman was projected as an early Day 3 draft pick, but the team didn't put him in great positions to thrive. He might need to rehab his draft projection with a strong all-star showcase.

Listed at 6-foot-8, 318 pounds, NFL teams are going to love his length for the position, and the silver lining from this season was that he showed the versatility to play either side.

Still, he gave up two sacks in his first three games at left tackle before settling in for a much more consistent stretch over the final five games of the year.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers CB Ricardo Hallman will play in new college football all-star game

Mahlman was essentially a four-year starter for Wisconsin, though he missed half of his redshirt freshman season due to injury.

That experience should be a plus for his pro prospects, but scouts are going to want to see him be more consistent as a run blocker and find more comfort playing both sides of the line.

He might begin his career a swing tackle for an NFL team that needs him as a backup who is ready to play either left or right tackle.

That pathway worked out for former Badgers tackle Jack Nelson, a seventh-round pick last spring by the Atlanta Falcons who earned his way onto the 53-man roster for his rookie season after participating in the Senior Bowl last winter.

More Wisconsin Badgers News:

Published
Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

Home/Football