Nick Saldiveri NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Old Dominion OT

HEIGHT: 6'6"

WEIGHT: 318

HAND: 10¼"

ARM: 33¼"

WINGSPAN: TBD

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40-YARD DASH: 5.21

3-CONE: TBD

SHUTTLE: 4.69

VERTICAL: 31"

BROAD: 9'3"

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POSITIVES

— Good athletic ability, lateral quickness and recovery balance.

— Skilled pass protector with the discipline to stay square and inside-out and to redirect to cut off inside counters; shows the range to reach his landmarks against high-side rushes.

— Does a very good job of taking away his hands at the last second to disrupt the timing of rushers and leave them without anything to work off.

— Smoothly transitions into his anchor with good lower-half mobility and bend to get under the bull rush.

— Has some jolt in his hands to cave in adjacent rushers when uncovered and when bumping and feeding on combo blocks.

— Loose hips and quick feet out of his stance to reach his landmarks in the zone run game.

— Easy mover on pulls and screens with the awareness to locate the most dangerous threat.

— Adept at picking up and passing off basic line games and stunts with proper depth, spacing and timing.

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NEGATIVES

— Base can get too wide on drive blocks, leaving him vulnerable to getting overextended against the push-pull technique.

— Gap exchanges and post-snap movement across his face slows him down, leaving him late to pick up secondary threats.

— Anchor technique is sound but not always immediate, leading to some initial push.

— Average length can lead to defenders establishing first meaningful contact and quickly slipping away from his grasp.

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2023 STATISTICS

— 11 starts: 10 at RT and one at RG

— Team captain

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NOTES

— 2018 2-star offensive tackle recruit out of Parkwood High School in Monroe, North Carolina, per 247Sports

— 35 career starts: 34 at right tackle and one at right guard

— Invited to the Reese's Senior Bowl

— Trained under Duke Manyweather leading up to the Senior Bowl and combine

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OVERALL

Nick Saldiveri was a three-year starter at right tackle. He made 10 starts at the spot last year with one at right guard inside Old Dominion's approximately 58-42 pass-run split, multiple-run scheme based on split-flow zone runs, power and counter. He has a tall, well-proportioned frame, average arm length and good athletic ability.

The former Monarch shows the initial and lateral quickness out of his stance to reach his landmarks in the zone run game, cut off the back side, widen and laterally displace defenders on angle-drive blocks. He is an athletic mover with the agility needed to climb and intersect second- and third-level targets on the move on screens.

He also shows jolt in his hands to dent and feed first-level targets over as the drive-man on double-teams. Saldiveri's base does tend to widen when giving up the first meaningful contact on drive blocks, leaving him vulnerable to getting overextended by the push-pull technique, and fast-flow backers can evade his grasp and scrape on double-team climbs.

He is an adept, skilled pass protector who does a very good job of staying square in his pass sets until the last possible moment while staying inside-out on the rusher. He has light, proactive hands that he uses to bait and disrupt the timing of speed-rushers before taking them away and leaving them without anything to work off.

Since he is usually in optimal position leading up to contact, he is in a good position to transition to his anchor and does so methodically. While he is often under the bull rush fighting pressure with pressure, the long-arm technique can gain quick access into his frame and walk him back two to three yards before movement ceases.

Saldiveri provides a physical presence when uncovered to cave in adjacent rushers, and he proficiently picks up and passes off line games and stunts with proper spacing, timing and depth.

Overall, he is a skilled, technically refined pass protector at tackle with the movement skills to be an asset in the zone run game and be serviceable on downhill, gap concepts. He showed enough in limited snaps on film and at the Senior Bowl at guard to offer inside-out versatility and will be a high-quality backup or potential starting right tackle right away.

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GRADE: 7.3 (High-level backup/potential starter - Round 3)

OVERALL RANK: 65

POSITION RANK: OT6

PRO COMPARISON: Doug Free

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn