NFL Draft Preview 2023: UCLA Football Offensive Guard Atonio Mafi

The Tongan defensive lineman-turned-offensive lineman reshaped his body and got himself on NFL teams' radars this year.

The NFL Draft is taking place in Kansas City this weekend, and a handful of Bruins are set to hear their names called.

UCLA football has 15 former players in the pool of potential future pros, which is one more than the team produced last year. Only six Bruins were drafted from coach Chip Kelly's first three teams in Westwood, but six wound up getting drafted in 2022 alone.

This year's draft class could be just as UCLA-heavy, with even more prospects who made waves in blue and gold now on the board in 2023.

All Bruins is breaking down scouting reports, stats and predictions for the biggest names who could go the highest, with offensive guard Atonio Mafi next on the list.

April 20 – RB Zach Charbonnet
April 21 – QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
April 24 – OG Jon Gaines II
April 25 – WR Jake Bobo

Stats

2018: 13 GP, 9 starts, 16 tackles, 1.5 TFL

2019: 12 GP, 5 starts, 28 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 FF

2020: 7 GP (Moved from DT to IOL)

2021: 12 GP, 3 starts

2022: 13 GP, 13 starts (All-Pac-12 Second Team)

Measurements

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 329 pounds

Arms: 32 5/8 inches

Hands: 10 3/8 inches

40-Yard Dash: N/A

10-Yard Split: N/A

Bench Press: N/A

Vertical Jump: N/A

Broad Jump: N/A

3-Cone Drill: N/A

20-Yard Shuttle: N/A

What The Experts Are Saying

Dane Brugler, The Athletic: "Overall, NFL defenders will expose the raw areas of his game, but Mafi is a promising, heavy-handed mauler who looks to create movement with in-line power. Although he might need time on a practice squad, he has the talent worth developing in a power-based scheme."

Lance Zierlien, NFL.com: "With a wide frame that can be challenging to navigate for run defenders, Mafi plays with good core strength, a broad base and well-placed hands to improve his power zone. Move blocking in the ground game and reactive adjustments in pass protection will create difficulties for him due to a lack of foot quickness. He plays with a chippy temperament that coaches will like. Mafi is scheme-dependent, but he has the potential to be a good backup or low-end starter."

Brandon Thorn, Bleacher Report: "Overall, Mafi is a wide-bodied tone-setting presence with good natural power and an understanding of how to maximize his size using patience that is impressive considering his inexperience level, but he plays short with an upright style and inconsistent punch timing that saps his leverage in the run game and leads to too many quick, clean losses in pass-protection. Mafi is worth rolling the dice on as a potential backup guard in a downhill, gap-based run scheme because of his size, demeanor, flashes of power and possibility for untapped potential considering how new he is to the position."

Brentley Weissman, The Draft Network: "Mafi plays with good bend and balance but must work on his hand placement as he often will miss with his hands resulting in him overextending and falling on the ground. Mafi is still raw and will only continue to develop with more playing time. His size and power are both outstanding and must also be monitored as his weight has been an issue while at UCLA and he must continue to keep his body in shape. If he accomplishes this, Mafi has the talent and skill set to develop into a starting NFL guard in a power-run scheme."

Tony Pauline, Pro Football Newtork: "Mafi quickly took to the offensive line after moving from the defensive side the ball and possesses the next-level size and a lot of potential. He’s a power-gap-blocking prospect who, at the very least, should be kept on a practice squad this fall."

Rankings

The Athletic: OG 16, No. 242 overall

Sports Illustrated: iOL 16, No. 294 overall

CBS Sports: IOL 16, No. 173 overall

Prediction

The game tape does Mafi plenty of favors, showing his high IQ in both pass protection and opening up running lanes. Mafi doesn't look like a defensive tackle playing left guard, and he also doesn't look like a guy who just dropped 70 pounds last year either.

However, Mafi is still a little stout for the NFL game, and the only time he really got any attention during the draft process was at the East-West Shrine Bowl. Mafi was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, and a calf strain prevented him from working out and displaying his sneaky athleticism at UCLA's pro day in March, which was ironic considering he never missed a single game over the course of his five collegiate seasons.

Mafi really thrived in UCLA's zone scheme, but scouts are saying he will fit in better in a power or gap-based scheme at the next level.

The Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders all stand out as teams that could give Mafi a chance to feature in more powering running plays than others, even if he wouldn't be a day one starter.

The Patriots make a lot of sense for Mafi, with Bill Belichick and Chip Kelly having a close relationship that has resulted in multiple draft picks in the past. Belichick tends to zig where others zag, especially in regards to the draft, so he may be willing to take a flier on a project lineman with high upside based off a strong referral from an old friend.

Mafi would also help solve New England's depth problems up front, so it seems like a good pairing in either the late sixth or mid-seventh round. He even told the Los Angeles Times that he flew out to Foxborough, Massachusetts, for a visit.

The Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints are also interested in Mafi.

Atonio Mafi: New England Patriots, No. 210 overall (Round 6)

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