NFL Draft 2018: Mike McGlinchey’s Pro Comparisons & Current Draft Position

Mike McGlinchey is built like a two-time Pro Bowl left tackle, but his play is reminiscent of two other tackles that have been proven their versatility during their careers.

NFL.com

In their analysis of McGlinchey Friday, draft analysts Bucky Brooks and Lance Zierlein noted the similarities in the stature of Notre Dame’s left tackle and of Taylor Lewan, who used to protect the blind sides of Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner for the Michigan Wolverines.

Lewan was the 11th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, while McGlinchey is expected to go in the early to mid-teens this year.

Despite their similar statures, Zierlein said Lewan was “more athletic” than McGlinchey — which the Combine measurables suggest is accurate.

Lewan put up 29 reps of 225 pound weights at the Combine; McGlinchey had 27. Lewan had a 117 inch broad jump and a 30.5 inch vertical jump; McGlinchey posted a broad jump of 105 inches and a 28.5 inch vertical jump.

Zierlein said a more accurate comparison between McGlinchey would be to two players: the Arizona Cardinals’ Jared Veldheer and the Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Castonzo.

NFL.com

On the Combine broadcast, Zierlein said:

“Jared Veldheer is long, has a good athletic ability, has some issues with anchor at times. I think that’s the same concern you have with Mike McGlinchey. One of the things with Veldheer, though, coming out, he did get stronger. He did show an ability to improve his anchor and I think that’s something that’s McGlinchey might be able to do. But even if there are limitations, you still can work around it. And it’s the offensive line coach’s job to help you work around that as well. And like McGlinchey, Veldheer’s shown that he can play starting this year on the left and right side.”

Matt “Money” Smith noted on the broadcast that there’s a range on McGlinchey that “goes from the mid teens all the way to the back end of the right round on a lot of the models.”

McGlinchey is a first round pick in 83 of the 91 mock drafts we’ve tracked. The average draft position is 17, which is owned by the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers are one of the four “franchise fits” for McGlinchey, according to Brooks.

NFL.com

At this point, only four mock draft analysts have slotted McGlinchey to the Arizona Cardinals. Fourteen have him going to the Seattle Seahawks at pick No. 18, while five have him picked by the Chargers at No. 17. Although not identified by Brooks as a “fit,” 17 mock draft analysts have McGlinchey being picked by the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 12.

Brooks explained the diversity of opinions by saying:

“When you’re used to looking at the top tackles, normally they have a level of athleticism that you fall in love with. They’re light on their feet. They move well, the balance and body control. I think with him, you just didn’t know on tape if he’s going to be that kind of athlete, so you’re a little hesitant to go all in on him being maybe the top offensive tackle in the class. Those insight comparisons to Taylor Lewan, I think they’re good. Those things help him as he continues to go forward. Solid technician. I think he’s probably a better technician than he is that nasty, road grader type, but there are a lot of guys like him that play and play at a high level in the league. When we look at guys like [New England Patriots’ left tackle] Nate Solder and those guys who have played at a Pro Bowl caliber. Maybe McGlinchey is such a good technician that he’s able to play at a high level, one of the best players in the game. Maybe he emerges as that kind of player down the line.”

COMPARING MCGLINCHEY TO OTHER NOTRE DAME PLAYERS

HEIGHT

McGlinchey is just shy of 6 feet, 8 inches. Of the 102 Notre Dame players invited to the NFL Combine since 1999, there are just two people taller than he measured: offensive linemen Brennan Curtin and Sam Young.

Curtin, from the Bob Davie/Tyrone Willingham era, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers. At 6-foot-9, he was the tallest player in the organization’s history.

Young, at 6-foot-8, was also a sixth round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2010. He’s played for four teams, including his current employer, the Miami Dolphins.

Jerry Wisne, a fifth-round pick in 1999, and Kurt Vollers, who went undrafted in 2002, were both offensive tackles and as tall as McGlinchey.

WEIGHT

There are 12 former Notre Dame players who weighed in within 5 pounds of McGlinchey’s 309 at their respective Combines.

They include first round picks Ronnie Stanley (312) and Zack Martin (308), second rounder Stephon Tuitt (304) and third rounders Ryan Harris (305) and Mike Gandy (305).

Wisne is the only player within an inch and five pounds of McGlinchey. He was 306 pounds.

HANDS

My data on the size of players’ hands only goes back to 2010. Nevertheless, there are 13 players who are within ¹⁄₄ of an inch of McGlinchey’s 10 inch hands.

Those players include fellow 2018 draft classmate Equanimeous St. Brown (9 ³⁄₄ inches), first round draftee Harrison Smith (10 ¹⁄₄ inches) and second rounders Tuitt (10 inches), Troy Niklas (10 inches) and DeShone Kizer (9 7/8 inches).

RB Jonas Gray (undrafted), WR T.J. Jones (6th round), K Kyle Brindza (undrafted) and DB KeiVarae Russell (3rd round) also had exactly 10 inch hands.

ARM LENGTH

The data for arms only goes back to 2010, so it may not surprise you that two of my data points that are close to McGlinchey’s 34 inches are fellow 2018 draft class players - Josh Adams and Quenton Nelson (both 33 ³⁄₄ inches).

This list also includes former tight end Niklas and defensive end Romeo Okwara, who was undrafted but is now thriving with the New York Giants.

WINGSPAN

McGlinchey’s wingspan is 81 inches. That is 1 5/8 inches shorter than Nelson’s, but more than two inches longer than St. Brown’s.

BENCH PRESS

McGlinchey’s 27 reps of 225 pounds matched the output of Niklas and linebacker Darius Fleming, who was drafted in the fifth round in 2012.

It was one more than Cedric Hilliard, a defensive lineman who went undrafted in 2004, and Prince Shembo, a fourth-round pick in 2014, and one fewer than McGlinchey’s former linemate Nick Martin, who was picked in the second round in 2016.

VERTICAL JUMP

McGlinchey’s 28.5 inch vertical jump was one-half inch higher than offensive linemen Wisne, Zack Martin, Taylor Dever (undrafted in 2012) and the same height as defensive lineman Ian Williams (undrafted in 2011). It was one-half inch lower than Hilliard, and offensive linemen Luke Petitgout (first round in 1999) and Dan Santucci (7th round in 2007).

BROAD JUMP

McGlinchey’s broad jump of 105 inches is pretty much in line with other Irish offensive linemen.

Nelson also jumped 8 feet, 9 inches today, as did Sean Mahan (5th round in 2003) and Jim Molinaro (6th round in 2004). Young fell an inch short of McGlinchey’s output in 2010, while Zack Martin and Jordan Black (fifth round in 2003) went one inch farther.

NFL.com GRADE

The NFL’s official website grades each Combine player on a scale of “no grade” to 7.99.

McGlinchey is graded at 5.89, which means the person who graded him thinks he has a “chance to become an NFL starter.”

Louis Nix III, a defensive lineman in the 2014 class, received a 5.9 grade. Zack Martin, an offensive tackle turned guard, received a 5.97 in the same year.

Nix hasn’t played in the league since last May and his career consisted of four games played for the New York Giants in 2015 (and zero starts). Martin is a four-time Pro Bowl selection and has started all 64 games in his pro career.

Under the former scoring system, any grade between 70 and 84 meant that the person grading for NFL.com thought the player would become an “eventual starter.”

Zeke Motta, a seventh round pick in 2013, received a 71.20 grade. The defensive back played 10 games for the Atlanta Falcons that year, with one start.

Tyler Eifert received a 83.3 grade in 2013. Eifert has played in 39 games over five seasons, starting 31 of those. He made the Pro Bowl in 2015.

MOCK DRAFTS