Emerson Mandell OT Wisconsin |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Scouting Report: Weaknesses

• Alabama and Michigan caved his pass sets in; both games were outright disasters.
• Anchor fails against speed-to-power, with five sacks allowed in twelve games.
• Gap-scheme run work shows stalled feet and soft edges; it is the weaker half of his game.
• Week-to-week swings are extreme; the floor games are unplayable by NFL standards.
• Body of work is one thin season, much of it spent in survival mode.

Scouting Report: Summary

There are two versions of Mandell on the 2025 tape, and they are hard to reconcile. The good version held up in pass protection against Ohio State and Oregon, two of the toughest fronts he saw, and finished a twelve-start season without a single penalty as a redshirt freshman, an unusual combination of youth and discipline. He also started at both right guard and right tackle, and the foot quickness to handle either spot is evident.

The other version is the problem. Alabama and Michigan did not just beat him; they caved his pass sets in entirely, and the five sacks allowed cluster in games where speed-to-power attacked his anchor. Gap-scheme run work shows stalled feet and soft edges, the weaker half of his game, and the distance between his best and worst outings is wider than any projection can comfortably absorb. Much of the season was survival mode, which is what one year of starts at his age usually looks like.

Put together, this is a project with a real foundation. The discipline, the two-position flexibility and the clean games against top competition give him a floor worth developing, while the disaster games cap the conviction. He returns to Wisconsin in 2026 needing to prove the floor outings were growing pains. For now he looks like a late-round developmental swing blocker who has to win a roster spot with versatility and a coach's trust.