30 Days of Colts' Fits: Cody Mauch, IOL, North Dakota State
The 2023 NFL Draft is officially just under a month away. In order to help you all along until draft day, I decided to start a daily prospect spotlight series to talk about some players that the Colts could target next month.
The players mentioned in this series will be players that I have either heard that the team is really high on or are players that just make way too much sense for the team based on fit/past draft history.
Next up on the countdown to Draftmas is North Dakota State IOL Cody Mauch.
Background
Cody Mauch was barely recruited out of Hankinson, North Dakota back in 2017. His only experience on the football field was in nine man football back in high school. His only two options coming into college were to walk-on at either North Dakota or North Dakota State.
He ultimately chose the powerhouse program at North Dakota State and walked on as a 234 pound tight end in 2017. He redshirted during his freshman season and mostly saw action on the scout team as a sixth lineman/tight end for the school. He bulked up to around 290-300 pounds in 2019, and emerged as a key backup along the offensive line.
He made his first career starts in the 2020 season for the Bison. He started a handful of games at right tackle before switching over to the left side for the remainder of spring, earning Second Team All-MVFC for his strong play.
From there, it was all an upward trajectory for the once walk-on tight end. He was named First Team All-MVFC in each of his final two seasons, and was an All-America selection in both seasons. This past year, he was named the FCS Lineman of the Year by the FCS ADA. He also finished eighth in voting for FCS Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
Overall, Mauch leaves the Bison program with 40 career starts under his belt and four FCS Championships to his name:
Size/Testing
Height:
6'5"
Weight:
302 pounds
Arm Length:
32.375 inches
Testing Numbers:
40 Time: 5.08 seconds / Bench Press: 29 reps / Vertical Jump: 29 inches / Broad Jump: 108 inches / Short-Shuttle: 4.55 seconds / 3-Cone: 7.33 Seconds
Ability on Film
Cody Mauch is one of the more enjoyable players to watch on film in this class. He is a superb athlete that likes to finish blocks AND he plays with insane effort. What more do you need out of an offensive lineman?
The technique may not always be there in his game, but Mauch gets after it on every single snap. He will catch countless bodies over the course of a game if an opposing defense doesn't account for him.
Cody Mauch is a special type of athlete. He is more than comfortable out in space and is a major asset when he lines up his target in the open field. The Indianapolis Colts have struggled mightily in the screen game over the past few seasons, so adding a player like Mauch could finally bring back some explosiveness to that play call:
Mauch started most of his collegiate career at left tackle. At the Senior Bowl this year, he was asked to shift inside and play some guard for the NFL teams in attendance. The result was a bit up and down, but it is always great to see a player still be productive when asked to make a move like this. He competed on every snap and had some really impressive wins during the week:
Cody Mauch is an NFL-ready offensive lineman that will be an asset to a team the second he steps into the building. On film, he is a perfect fit for the Colts on day two of the NFL Draft.
Fit with the Colts/Team Interest
The Indianapolis Colts are coming off of a season where their offensive line played well below expectation. While it did improve marginally late in the season, the team needs to add more capable bodies to this position group before 2023. Will Fries is currently listed as the starter at right guard with only Danny Pinter serving as the backup.
Cody Mauch is a player that can step in and start from day one on the right side. There will be some lumps and bruises with his play, but his intensity and athleticism should provide a nice floor while he finds his bearings in the league.
As far as interest goes, the Colts did meet with Mauch at the Reese's Senior Bowl this offseason. So, there has been some contact between the two sides at least. Just reading between the lines a little bit, Mauch does check off a lot of boxes for the team.
Two of the last three offensive linemen that Chris Ballard has drafted were converted from tight end to offensive tackle in college (Bernhard Raimann and Danny Pinter). Ballard also loves players that have big Senior Bowl weeks, and Mauch was named Offensive Lineman of the Week for the event.
Overall, Mauch makes way too much sense for the Colts on day two of the 2023 NFL Draft.
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Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.
