The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting a pair of 2023 NFL Draft prospects for a pre-draft visit at their facility today. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ray Fittipaldo, North Dakota State OL Cody Mauch and Purdue WR Charlie Jones are in the building.
Jones’ upcoming visit was reported yesterday so this is not new news to Steelers’ fans, at least not the ones who read the site. But Mauch is a new name to the list. One of the top small schoolers from North Dakota State, Mauch impressed at the Senior Bowl with his team-first mindset and versatility, playing all five positions in Mobile despite primarily being a tackle in college. A fun story — he is well-known for his missing two front teeth that were knocked out during a junior high basketball game — Mauch is an aggressive run blocker.
At this year’s Combine, Mauch measured in at 6050, 302 pounds with 32 3/8 inch arms. He ran a solid 5.08 40 with a 1.81 ten split and put up 29 reps on the bench press. In our pre-draft scouting report, we noted Mauch’s desire to finish his blocks, good football IQ, and overall athleticism while dinging him for a lack of ideal length and struggles against bull and power rushers. Mauch is considered to go somewhere in the top 50 picks and could hear his name as early as the first handful of picks on Day Two. Pittsburgh holds picks #32 and #49 in the second round of the draft.
Jones is an athletic receiver who played at Buffalo and Iowa before finally landing at Purdue. Last year, he exploded with a 110-catch season for over 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also has experience as a kick and punt returner and is considered to be a Late Day Two or early Day Three selection.
In our profile on him, Jonathan Heitritter concluded:
“He has shown that he can win at all levels of the field, as a possession receiver or screen guy near the LOS while also stretching the field vertically. He should be able to play as a WR3/4 at the NFL level, but his lack of ideal size/frame and high-end speed and quickness will limit his upside as a player that can consistently separate at the next level and create after the catch.”
You can follow our updating pre-draft visit tracker for the complete known list of names the Steelers have visited with or have scheduled for later in draft season.
You can check out our full profiles on both below.
