What to Know: Packers hosted UCLA IOL Atonio Mafi on pre-draft visit
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers hosted UCLA interior offensive lineman Atonio Mafi on an official pre-draft visit on Thursday, according to Tom Pelissero. Mafi is one of 30 pre-draft visits that the Packers are permitted to have.
Mafi is 6’3″ and weighs 338 pounds. He did not register a Relative Athletic Score as he was nursing a calf injury and did not complete any of the agility, speed, or explosiveness testing.
Before Mafi made the switch to guard, he was a nost tackle for the Bruins and weighed almost 400 pounds. On the offensive side of the ball, he has 1,341 career snaps, most of which have come at left guard, but he’s played another 235 at right guard.
The majority of his college snaps came in 2022, where Mafi allowed just three sacks and 14 pressures. According to PFF, UCLA ran a mixture of zone and gap-blocking schemes, and Mafi had the third-best run-blocking grade among all guards last season.
Mafi’s consensus grade from The Draft Network gives him a fifth-round value. For more on his game, here is a snippet of what Brentley Weissman wrote in his pre-draft report:
"“Mafi is a mammoth of a man, possessing a wide body with a thick upper and lower half. His game is based on his ability to utilize his size and power to impose his will on opposing defenders.”"
Also within the report, Weissman does question Mafi’s ability to move on outside zone runs, which does make me question his fit with the Packers, given that is what they primarily utilize under Matt LaFleur.
Addressing the interior offensive line certainly isn’t the biggest need that the Packers have this offseason, with all three of their starters from 2022 returning. However, Josh Myers had a very up-and-down season, and adding some competition at center wouldn’t be a bad idea–although Mafi isn’t going to be that player.
Adding to the depth wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. Zach Tom could end up as the starting right tackle, which would take away his ability to compete inside. Other options include Royce Newman, Sean Rhyan, and Jake Hanson.
In the last three drafts, Packers’ GM Brian Gutekunst has selected nine offensive linemen, including three each year. With 10 draft picks and another one or two incoming, it’s probably a safe bet to assume that at least one of those selections is going to be spent on the offensive line.
Typically, the Packers have been successful in selecting offensive tackles on the third day of the draft and having them move inside. Another avenue to bolster the interior completion would be selecting an offensive tackle early on that can play on the right side, allowing Tom to potentially move to center, where earlier this offseason, Gutekunst mentioned that was his best position when Green Bay was evaluating him prior to last year’s draft.