Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft Primer: iOL

In addition to this article about inside offensive linemen, you can check out my deep dives on positions below, starting with quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. I’ll continue to provide 2023 NFL Draft coverage, culminating in my top-500 NFL Draft rankings and big board ahead of the first pick being announced later this month.

• Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft Primer: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends
• NFL Draft Needs for Every Team
• Latest Big Board
• NFL Draft Prop Bet Cards: Freedman | Weyrauch | Erickson
• 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports & Prospect Profiles

Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft iOL Rankings

1. Peter Skoronski | Northwestern | 6040/313 | RAS: 9.30

Player comparison: Steve Hutchinson

Bio

Peter Skoronski, the first five-star recruit to ever sign with Northwestern, was the Wildcats’ starting left tackle all three years on campus. He took over that post in 2020 following Rashawn Slater’s COVID-19 season opt-out.

Skoronski was an immediate standout, posting an 81.4 PFF grade as a true freshman while allowing only two sacks on the blind side. His PFF pass-blocking grade surged from 71.0 to 84.3 as a sophomore. Once again, Skoronski allowed two sacks but on nearly over 100 more pass-pro reps while slashing his pressure-allowed rate.

Stranded on an anemic Northwestern team that went 1-11 in 2022, Skoronski made another leap. Skoronski was PFF’s highest-graded pass-blocking offensive lineman – with a sublime 99.2% pass-pro efficiency rate – and PFF’s second-highest graded OT in the 2023 class last season.

During pre-Draft testing, Skoronski cemented himself firmly in the first-offensive-lineman-off-the-board discussion. Skoronski did every test but the short shuttle. His 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump were all 96th-percentile or better. He posted a 93rd-percentile size-adjusted athletic composite overall.

Strengths

The first thing that strikes you about Skoronski’s film is how dang springy he is. A flexible knee-bender with a thick, powerful trunk, Skoronski is a human-mouse trap who snaps forward the instant the ball leaves the center’s hand. Skoronski wins initial control in almost every run-blocking interaction. Because he also consistently wins the leverage game by firing out low, he often hangs onto that advantage.

His explosion off the snap and his sweet feet also make him a second-level killer. Linebackers who don’t trigger immediately have no chance. If you’re still diagnosing when Skoronski gets on your doorstep, you’re either going for a ride or getting planted in the dirt.

It’s tough to beat Skoronski with speed off the edge in pass-pro. He quickly sets up, gains appropriate depth and shows good core strength and balance once he gets to work. Skoronski’s a handwork tactician with pinpoint accuracy on his punch.

Power in his hands is apparent both in that regard and with how emphatically he can control the run game once he gets his meat cleavers into you. I love how he marries his upper and lower halves into one cohesive machine. You aren’t going to leverage him into making an unforced error.

Weaknesses

Skoronski’s only limitations are a lack of length and good-but-not-great agility. Those issues could become more pronounced at tackle in the NFL. Skoronski’s 79.5-inch wingspan is multiple inches shorter than each of the consensus top-four OTs in this class. His 3-cone – 59th percentile – was his worst pre-Draft test, and it perhaps wasn’t a surprise that he opted out of the shuttle.

Skoronski only struggled with one kind of player in college: EDGE rushers with length. Those defenders could mitigate Skoronski’s skill by getting their hands on him first and locking him out early. Skoronski’s utility plays down when he doesn’t win that early advantage.

Skoronski could be an effective right tackle at the next level. But I’m projecting him to guard because he projects cleaner on the interior to become an immediate stud.

2. O’Cyrus Torrence | Florida | 6047/337 | RAS: 6.08

Player comparison: Larry Warford

Bio

O’Cyrus Torrence joined Skoronski on last season’s AP first-team All-American list. This was a big development for Torrence’s Draft stock.

Previously, Torrence was a dominant Sun Belt guard at Louisiana under former HC Billy Napier. Torrence followed Napier to Florida for the 2022 season and similarly dominated SEC competition, locking in his status as a potential first-round pick.

Strengths

Torrence is as big as a power plant and comes equipped with nuclear reactor play strength. When his first-baseman-mitt-sized hands (11 ¼”) latch onto you, you go where O’Cyrus wants you to go. He stuns interior defensive linemen with the power in his hands, stalling their engines.

Torrence easily shuts out the lights on one-trick-pony power rushers in pass protection. Bull-rushing is futile when he drops his cruise ship anchor. Torrence does a commendable job using his enormous frame and length in this phase to stymie quicker defenders, forcing them to drive recklessly on the median to pass him.

Torrence has a nasty play ethos and surprisingly good stamina for a player his size. He’s the hammer you’re running behind in the fourth quarter when icing games away.

Weaknesses

Torrence is an extremely clean prospect, so long as you recognize what he is and don’t try to stretch him. He’s an offensive guard without the quick feet or lateral agility to play on the outside. Torrence’s agility scores were mediocre 34th and 54th-percentile showings.

Ideally, he’ll land with a power-run downhill outfit. Torrence is at his best coming forward in a phone booth. You don’t want to stretch him, asking him to hit outside shoulders in stretch-zone concepts or regularly sending him into the second level.

3. Cody Mauch | North Dakota St. | 6047/305 | RAS: 9.31

Player comparison: Cole Strange

Bio

Cody Mauch is a North Dakota farm boy who arrived on campus as a raw, 220-pound walk-on tight end. He packed on 85 pounds during his career via NDSU’s vaunted strength and conditioning program and – as Mauch told me at the Senior Bowl – NDSU’s all-you-can-eat student buffets (he’s a big stromboli guy).

He retained the athleticism of a tight end as he packed on weight, turning himself into an uber-athletic, FVS All-American left tackle in Fargo – with a brief stop on the defensive line during his redshirt freshman campaign.

Mauch proved his athleticism during the pre-Draft process, posting a 96th-percentile 3-cone, 90th-percentile short shuttle, 93rd-percentile 10-yard split and 85th-percentile 40-yard dash.

Strengths

Mauch was a weapon in NDSU’s run game. He is one of the best second-level blockers and pull-blockers in the entire class. Mauch gets onto the linebacker’s doorstep in the second level while they’re still diagnosing.

He flies out of his stance, gets on top of them immediately and wipes them out. There were plays he’d have the defender looking up at the FargoDome ceiling without ever knowing where the ball had gone. Mauch is a lead-blocking freight train on concepts where NDSU sent him into space.

He has very quick feet, gains control and swivels his lower half fluidly to win play-side leverage. Mauch has a tone-setting playstyle, a jovial marauder with long, flowing red hair and a gap-toothed smile – his front teeth were knocked out years ago in a youth basketball game. Mauch’s jubilant first-down celebrations made him a fan-favorite in the FargoDome.

Weaknesses

Mauch’s 78 ⅞” wingspan is decidedly below-average for an NFL tackle. Lengthier edge rushers get into his pads and give him fits. He doesn’t help his cause with his hand usage. He tends to aggressively throw outside his frame in a wild attempt to bridge the length gap and gain control.

For how sweet his feet are in the run game in space, they fail him on the perimeter in pass-pro. He is not the fluid shuffler you might expect from his athletic profile. Mauch is clearly more comfortable coming forward than catching defenders on his heels in pass-pro.

For these reasons, he projects best as a guard at the next level. Zone teams will prioritize Mauch’s quickness, angles, leverage and banger style in round No. 2.

4. John Michael Schmitz | Minnesota | 6033/306 | RAS: 7.88

Player comparison: Dan Koppen

Bio

A four-year starter at center for the Gophers, John Michael Schmitz was a First-Team AP All-American and Rimington finalist last fall. It was a fitting swan song for a player who could have declared for the NFL Draft last year but stuck around to finish things out.

During last year’s dominant campaign, Schmitz posted a 92.3 PFF grade that led all FBS centers. He led all centers in run-blocking grade by an even wider margin.

Strengths

Mauch has very good lateral agility. He hits the outside shoulder and shuffles his feet around to the play side to seal his man off in the run game. The Gophers had great fun pulling Schmitz and asking him to pick off second-level defenders.

Schmitz is a quarterback-of-the-line type who doesn’t blow assignments. He recognizes blitzes, stunts immediately and ensures his linemates do, too.

Schmitz made a point during the pre-Draft process to tell the media that he was an “interior offensive lineman” instead of strictly a center. He clearly understands supply and demand. Schmitz did get some snaps at guard in Senior Bowl practices.

He acquitted himself well in one-on-one drills. On multiple occasions, stranded on an island, Schmitz stymied his man, eliciting whoops and hollers from his teammates. He’s a practice warrior who goes full-boar every rep.

Weaknesses

I liked Schmitz’s confidence in declaring that he could be an NFL guard. But, outside of his brief work at guard in Mobile, that idea is entirely theoretical. Schmitz only played center at Minnesota, logging 2,491 career snaps in the pivot.

Schmitz’s lack of length (78.375” wingspan) and mediocre play strength bit him against long interior power rushers, who got their hands on him first. I see him as a center and a very good one. Schmitz is an ideal fit for a zone scheme where his mobility will shine.

5. Steve Avila | TCU | 6031/332 | RAS: 8.46

Player comparison: Chris Kemoeatu

Bio

Steve Avila was a team leader and captain. He has a prototypical frame – wide and very powerful – for interior work. He throws heavy hands, sets the meat cleavers in the run game, explodes through his hips at the contact point and steers his man.

Strengths

Avila is a clever pass-blocker who doesn’t beat himself. He sets up quickly and makes you work for it. Avila didn’t allow a single sack over 515 pass-pros snaps during TCU’s run to the National Championship last year. He is a very heavy anchor to deal with power.

Avila is also Extremely versatile. He spent roughly half his career at center before kicking to left guard last year. He was an All-Big 12 accommodation at both spots and also played a bit of right guard and right tackle earlier in his career.

Weaknesses

Avila has decent-but-not-exceptional length (79.875” wingspan). Longer defenders give him the most trouble, which is why TCU kicked him inside a few years ago.

Avila can go fire-on-fire with power all day, but in the run game, he saps some of his own strength by ceding the leverage game by blocking tall. He is a bit of a lumberer in space, who is a better fit for a power scheme than a zone-blocking one.

Best of the rest…

6. Joe Tippmann | Wisconsin | 6060 /313 | RAS: N/A | Comp: Josh Myers
7. Chandler Zavala | North Carolina State | 6034/322 | RAS: 9.49 | Comp: Josh Sitton

8. Braeden Daniels | Utah | 6041/294 | RAS: 9.54 | Comp: Ali Marpet

9. Anthony Bradford | LSU | 6042/332 | RAS: 9.81 | Comp: Louis Vasquez
10. Luke Wypler | Ohio State | 6030/303 | RAS: 9.30 | Comp: Dominic Raiola
11. Sidy Sow | Eastern Michigan | 6046/329 | RAS: 9.71 | Comp: Trey Smith
12. McClendon Curtis | Chattanooga | 6056/331 | RAS: 7.69 | Comp: Ben Cleveland

13. Emil Ekiyor Jr. | Alabama | 6022/317 | RAS N/A | Comp: Nate Davis

14. Joey Fisher | Shepherd | 6041/296 | RAS: 9.66 | Comp: Netane Muti 
15. Jon Gaines II | UCLA | 6037/304 | 9.63 | Comp: Mark Glowinski
16. Andrew Vorhees | USC | 6061/310 | RAS: N/A | Comp: Robert Hunt

17. Olusegun Oluwatimi | Michigan | 6025/308 | RAS: 7.89 | Comp: Keith Ismael

18. Jaxson Kirkland | Washington | 6065/321 | RAS: 4.9 | Comp: Cole Boozer 

19. Ricky Stromberg | Arkansas | 6031/315 | RAS: 9.57 | Comp: James Daniels
20. Jordan McFadden | Clemson | 6020/303 | RAS: 7.68 | Comp: Vince Manuwai
21. Juice Scruggs | Penn State | 6026/308 | RAS: 7.95 | Comp: Hroniss Grasu
22. Jarrett Patterson | Notre Dame | 6047/304 | RAS: 7.19 | Comp: Ben Hamilton

Check out all of our 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports & Prospect Profiles

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