Matt Waletzko NFL Draft 2022: Scouting Report for North Dakota OT

HEIGHT: 6'7 5/8"

WEIGHT: 312

HAND: 10 1/4"

ARM: 36 1/8"

WINGSPAN: 7'1 5/8"

40-YARD DASH: 5.03

3-CONE: DNP

SHUTTLE: DNP

VERTICAL: 30"

BROAD: 9'5"

POSITIVES

— Long limbs with excellent arm length and room to add more weight to his frame.

— Shows good initial quickness in the zone-run game on backside cutoffs and to get into his fit on combo blocks.

— Solid movement skills at the second level on his climb, as a puller and on screens to line up smaller targets.

— Has enough pop in his hands to create displacement at the point of attack on combo blocks to feed the defensive tackle over to his guard before starting his climb.

NEGATIVES

— Has an upkick out of his stance in pass protection that forces him to open his hips towards wide rush angles, cross over and play with a narrow base.

— Marginal contact balance, play strength and anchoring ability. Will get thrown around in the pro game.

— Sporadic strike timing and location leaves him susceptible to whiffing and losing too quickly against sudden rushers who can set him up with stutters and hesitations.

— Footwork in the run game leaves him disjointed and off balance on angle-drive blocks.

— Rolls onto his toes in the drive portion of blocks, creating a forward lean and propensity to fall off blocks.

2021 STATISTICS

- Ten starts at left tackle.

- First team All-MVFC selection.

- Team captain

NOTES

— Former 2-star offensive tackle recruit out of Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota. He also had offers from North Dakota State and Northern Iowa.

— Lettered in basketball and baseball.

— 28 career starts at left tackle.

— Suffered a shoulder injury in Week 10 of the 2021 season, forcing him to miss the last game of the season against South Dakota State.

— Invited and accepted his invite to the 2022 Senior Bowl.

OVERALL

Waletzko is a three-year starter with all of his 28 starts coming at left tackle inside North Dakota's zone run scheme. Waletzko has a high cut frame with excellent arm length and room to add another 10-15 pounds to his frame.

Waletzko wins using good initial quickness out of his stance to get into his fits on combo blocks to cover up defensive tackles with enough power in his hands to knock and feed them over to the guard before releasing up to the second level. He works his hips around to overtake and secure blocks when the guard releases and can line up and connect on targets at the second level on pulls and screens.

While Waletzko's movement skills as a run-blocker, his wingspan and his length allow him to gain initial control on most defenders, his upright playing style, high pad level and disjointed footwork cause him to struggle sustaining blocks. He rolls onto his toes on angle-drive blocks, creating a forward lean and lack of control once defenders redirect and shed. The most concerning aspect of his game is pass protection. Waletzko has an upkick out of his stance that forces him to open his hips towards wide rush angles, cross over, play with a narrow base and create a two-way go for rushers. His marginal play strength, contact balance and anchor in pass protection makes him a liability against speed to power moves, and his sporadic strike timing and placement leaves him unable to create consistent leverage on rushers that challenge him.

Overall, Waletzko has the length and athletic ability to offer some developmental upside as a practice squad player, but his minimal contact balance, play strength and technical concerns make him a liability on an NFL field for the foreseeable future.

GRADE: 5.3 (Backup/UDFA With Roster Potential)

OVERALL RANK: 298

POSITION RANK: OT20

PRO COMPARISON: Larnel Coleman

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn