Seth McLaughlin NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for Ohio State IOL

HEIGHT: 6'4"
WEIGHT: 305
POSITIVES
— Boxy, stout build with good play strength and square power.
— Very good as the 'set-up' man to cover up, create lift and get on the plus side of the line of scrimmage on duo doubles and inside zone combos.
— Excellent drag hand on slides and combos provides a firm, consistent presence while allowing him to quickly pick up threats coming from the backside.
— Has enough quicks and agility with efficient footwork to consistently reach and seal head up nose tackles and shades with the strength to widen them out when needed.
— Flashes good patience, independent strike timing and placement in pass protection to land his punch and gain control of attempted moves across his face.
NEGATIVES
— Adequate arm length and reach leads to his edge being slowly but consistently softened.
— Pads can rise, get him lifted on contact and forced into scramble mode to recover from initially ceding ground.
— Can get caught aiming too far outside on target that quick moves across his face can expose and generate penetration in pass protection and on back blocks.
NOTES
— 3-star recruit from the 2020 class, per 247Sports
— Started 24 games at center at Alabama before transferring to Ohio State for the 2024 season where he started 10 games
— Torn Achilles suffered during practice on November 19th
— 2024 Rimington Trophy winner
— 34 career starts at center
— Earned his bachelor's and master's degrees while at Alabama, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA
— Accepted his invite to the 2025 Senior Bowl
OVERALL
Seth McLaughlin is a three-year starter at center with 34 career starts including 10 in 2024 inside Ohio State's 54-48 run-pass split, multiple run scheme offense centered around zone and pin-pull with gap principles mixed in. McLaughlin won the Rimington Trophy in his lone year with the Buckeyes despite rupturing his Achilles after 10 games. McLaughlin has a wide-bodied frame and stout build with good play strength, square power and solid athletic ability.
McLaughlin is brings a firm, stout presence to the run game with a firm understanding of spacing, timing and the play's intent on combination and double-teams. He does a nice job of being thick on contact, generating vertical displacement and securing the first-level before timely releasing to the second. McLaughlin engages backers square on contact and usually is able to widen them out before slowly losing control late in the rep. He has solid quickness and efficient footwork on reach blocks to hook and/or widen when needed to get nose tackles and shades walled off. There will be times he is caught high at the point of attack and forced into scramble mode after ceding ground initially and he can overshoot his target on back blocks and get his face crossed.
In pass protection McLaughlin shows impressive patience, timing and placement to strike through and stick rushers attempting to work across his face while having good play strength to anchor against power. He has been a little up and down recognizing tackle twists but his drag hand is consistently active, engaged and responsive to backside pressure, allowing him to quickly help his guards when needed.
Overall, McLaughlin is an older prospect coming off a major lower leg injury with solid athletic ability and the mental makeup, build, play strength and technical savvy to compete for the pivot job when healthy and stick as a starter long-term in a multiple run scheme.
GRADE: 7.4 (High-Level Backup/Potential Starter)
OVERALL RANK: 74
POSITION RANK: IOL8
PRO COMPARISON: More athletic Bradley Bozeman
Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn
Prospect workout numbers, measurables (40-yard dash, hand size, etc.) and 2024 statistics will be added at a later date.
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