A look into the Cowboys’ most interesting fifth-round selection, the North Dakota tackle. | From @TimLettiero
In a draft heavy on need-filling picks, former North Dakota Fighting Hawk OT Matt Waletzko may have a shot at seeing some time on field this year with the Dallas Cowboys. The fifth-round pick is a strong athlete for his position and seems to have a lot of promise. The circumstances dictate he can see the field, even as a fifth-round rookie.
Franchise LT Tyron Smith is still an elite player but has been unavailable due to injury a lot over the last few seasons. Starting RT Terrence Steele showed a fair amount of promise last season with immense improvement from his 2020 campaign but his consistency is the question on everyone’s mind. Behind these two are Josh Ball and Aviante Collins. Between those two and Waletzko, the Cowboys will work to identify their swing tackle of the future. Here’s how Waletzko arrived in the NFL.
After addressing it in the first round, the Cowboys went back to the well for offensive line, selecting North Dakota OT Matt Waletzko. | From @CDBurnett7
The Cowboys’ draft process includes a focus on Power 5 talent, but they’ve strayed from that script with their 2022 NFL draft class. First, Dallas selected Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Smith in the first round. Two rounds later, they selected South Alabama wide receiver Jalen Tolbert.
In the fifth round, the Cowboys continued the trend. With Smith expected to move into the left guard spot, Dallas selected North Dakota offensive tackle and Senior Bowl participant Matt Waletzko at No. 155.
Breaking: #Cowboys select OT Matt Waletzko, per source.
Waletzko towers at 6-foot-8, 312 pounds and has 36 inch arms to boot. While his competition wasn’t always the toughest, his strength was on display and he can make the switch to right tackle. He’ll be competing with Terence Steele for the Cowboys’ starting job. Waletzko is the first North Dakota player to be drafted since 2006.
For the final time before the 2022 NFL draft, Shaun Calderon is dropping a seven-round Titans mock that features a trade out of the first round.
We are just days away from the Tennessee Titans making their first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and there is about as much uncertainty around the NFL as ever before.
Usually by now we at least know who the first overall pick of the draft will be; however, this year even that is up for a valid debate as of right now.
The Titans enter the draft owning seven selections, including the 26th pick, which could be used on a handful of different players. Another avenue the Titans could explore is trading back and acquiring an extra pick or two depending on how far they decide to go.
In this particular mock, I traded out of the first round and gave up the right to a future fifth-year option in order to collect an extra premium pick. The trade values were based on the modern-day version of Jimmy Johnson’s infamous draft pick value chart.
Having said all that, let’s take a closer look at how this scenario plays out in my final mock draft that involves a trade back.
The list of prospects who have visited the Broncos ahead of the NFL draft includes OT Matt Waletzko, RB James Cook and OLB Nik Bonitto.
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Each offseason, NFL teams are allowed to host 30 non-local prospects at their facilities ahead of the NFL draft. We will be tracking the Denver Broncos’ top 30 visits on this page.
The draft will be held in Las Vegas from April 28-30. The Broncos currently own nine selections, including a second-round pick and a pair of third-round picks.
North Dakota’s Matt Waletzko is a name to watch if the Jaguars were to take an OT in the late rounds of the NFL draft.
The Jacksonville Jaguars may seem set at the left and right tackle positions in 2022 after franchise-tagging Cam Robinson and drafting Walker Little in the second round next season. But Robinson may elect to not re-sign with the franchise next offseason after they franchise-tagged him twice.
Because of the uncertainty beyond 2022, the Jaguars hosted North Dakota offensive tackle Matt Waletzko on a virtual visit, according to Justin Melo of The Draft Network.
Besides Jacksonville, Waletzko has met with the Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, and Arizona Cardinals. Teams are impressed with his 36-inch arms, and he ran a 5.03 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
He comes out of North Dakota as a three-year starter where he started as a left tackle in all 28 games. Waletzko has especially shined in his last two seasons according to Pro Football Focus, which gave him grades of 80.7 and 78.3 in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The Broncos held a top-30 visit with him, but Waletzko will probably be taken in the later rounds. He’s a name to watch if Jacksonville especially, as they have seven picks in Rounds 5-6.
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Waletzko is 6-7, has 36-inch arms and ran the 40 in 5.03 seconds at the combine.
The Arizona Cardinals have met with many prospects in the NFL draft. They have had interviews at the NFL combine, private workouts, official visits to the team facility and even virtual meetings.
One player they have met with virtually is North Dakota tackle Matt Waletzko, according to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo. Waletzko has met virtually with the Cardinals and at least four other teams.
Waletzko played last tackle for North Dakota and had starting experience as a freshman. He battled injuries in 2019 and 2020 but bounced back this last season.
He played in the Senior Bowl and was impressive at the combine.
He is a long 6-7 and 305 lbs. he has long 36-inch arms and ran the 40 at the combine in 5.03 seconds.
He needs to get strong but has a frame to be successful in the NFL at tackle.
With five selections in the final two rounds of the draft and the tradition of drafting offensive linemen on Day 3, he could be a name to watch.
What would a draft look like if the Colts traded up for a QB? We take a look here.
The Indianapolis Colts are just three weeks away from the start of the 2022 NFL draft and will be tidying up their big board in the meantime.
How the Colts will go about this draft is a mystery. We can take our best-educated guess based on their needs and historical selections. But what happens in the draft is always a crapshoot.
While we took a look earlier at what a mock draft might look like if the Colts passed on a quarterback following the Matt Ryan trade, it’s now time to take a look at what that draft haul might look like if they found a quarterback prospect they really like and are willing to move up for him.
Going “all-in” doesn’t mean trading everything to get into the top-10 of the draft. That’s likely unrealistic because it will be extremely difficult for the Colts to pull off that kind of blockbuster all the way back from No. 42 overall.
Using Pro Football Focus’ draft simulator, we moved up to the late first round to get a potential franchise quarterback while trying to stay as close to a realistic Chris Ballard draft as we could.
Check out Draft Wire’s exclusive interview with North Dakota offensive tackle prospect Matt Waletzko
North Dakota’s Matt Waletzko is one of the best FCS prospects to enter the 2022 NFL draft.
It’s apparent just by looking at him that he’s built to play at the NFL level. Standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing 310 pounds, Waletzko offers fantastic length for an offensive tackle. Beyond that, he possesses impressive athleticism for his size, as well as the raw strength needed to hold his own at the point of attack. He dominated during his time at North Dakota, and now he looks to succeed at the NFL level.
Draft Wire had the chance to speak exclusively with Waletzko about his pre-draft preparation, his experience at the Senior Bowl, adjusting to playing two seasons in the span of 12 months, and much more.
JI: You’ve had an illustrious career at North Dakota, starting all but 4 games you played in 4 years, and being one of the best linemen in the FCS. Looking back on it now, what was your favorite moment of your college career?
MW: That’s a tough question. Favorite moment? Honestly, if I had to pick one, I’d probably say the day that I was nominated captain for our team. I think it was a big thing for me and a big goal that I wanted to do. I think that was probably the biggest part of my career.
JI: How has your leadership ability grown since being named as a captain?
MW: I definitely transitioned my leadership skills. [I] became more of a vocal leader as I went on throughout my career, and I think, my freshman, sophomore years seeing the older guys, the captains of those years, do it. I just took some things that they did, and kind of just took it into my own hands to be a leader for that team and do what I could to change the culture and develop a culture that was a winning environment.
(AP Photo/Butch Dill)
JI: You’ve faced some adversity along the way, like your knee injury, and the COVID year. How would you say those experiences have molded you as a player and a person?
MW: Yeah, obviously COVID, then I had an injury, as you mentioned, a couple of years ago, and it was a knee injury. I was sidelined for the last half of the year, and that’s kind of where I started developing that leadership style. Obviously, I couldn’t play, so I had to take on a new role with the team and be a voice for the other guys in the o-line room, and just really anyone on the team and do what I could in any way that I really could. And then COVID, obviously, that throws a curveball. We went in there, 2020 summer, we were going in when COVID was still new yet and we didn’t know [about it]. We thought we were gonna play in the fall, and we were practicing during the summer conditioning itself like we were gonna play in the fall. Obviously, we didn’t do that. Being able to have that positive mindset through that fall season when all those bigger FBS schools were playing, it was hard, seeing those guys playing and us not being able to. I kind of developed that growth mindset that we’ll have a season in the spring, and we will get our chance.
JI: What was this past offseason like, coming off of the spring season and jumping right back into the fall season?
MW: It was completely different, playing two seasons in one calendar year. It was crazy. I think in the spring, we ended up playing seven games, in the fall we played 11. That transition from spring to fall, getting into summer workouts – I don’t even know when our last game was…late April, maybe even May, I don’t know – but so then, they give us a little more time off in summer, we ease back into workouts just because we knew we’re gonna have to play another year or another season the upcoming fall. It was definitely a change and definitely kind of hard on the body right away. Once you get into it, you’re into it.
JI: Especially considering how tall you are, you’re an impressive athlete as an offensive tackle. Sometimes taller linemen can struggle with agility and flexibility. How have you worked to avoid that?
MW: I think a lot of it [is] going through my career and just developing my body, and obviously getting stronger and leaner in the weight room. I do a lot of yoga and stretching outside of football; I think that plays a big part into my game, just because like you said, being able to play offensive line as tall as I am, I need to bend. I need to be agile in space, move. I think that doing yoga and everything, getting in these weird positions, for that big guy like me, when we get onto the football field, I think it really just helps even your hip mobility, your ankles, just everything that you need to be an offensive lineman.
(AP Photo/Butch Dill)
JI: You recently had the chance to go down to Mobile for the Senior Bowl. What was that experience like for you?
MW: Yeah, that was an awesome experience, that opportunity. Jim Nagy and just everyone there was obviously incredible, going on down there, just competing with the best of the best in the country. I was just fortunate to be able to go down there, come out healthy and just showcase my abilities to the nation and to the world.
JI: What was it like being able to meet with NFL coaches and scouts?
MW: [I got] really good feedback. I think that whole week was really cool. Obviously, I was coached by the Jets staff, and it was just an awesome experience, just to be able to have that week with NFL coaches and how they do things, their playbook. Obviously, not as many plays, but just the basic stuff, their techniques, meeting styles, just everything. It was amazing. But yeah, going through the week, it was meeting with all those different teams, it was really fun just to be able to explain yourself, where you came from, how you play, what makes you tick, so yeah, it was really fun.
JI: Heading into the NFL Scouting Combine, you’ve been working at Exos throughout the pre-draft process. Do you have any specific goals in mind you want to reach?
MW: Not necessarily specific numbers. If I can honestly just run as fast, jump as high and put up as many bench reps as I can…I’m pretty athletic for my size, so I’ll hopefully be able to be in the top tier for those kinds of events.
JI: Which offensive linemen have you grown up idolizing?
MW: For a long time when I was growing up, there was Joe Thomas. He’s one of the best to ever do it. He’s just a technician, how he just uses different techniques against different players. Someone I’ve been watching recently is Andrew Whitworth. He’s 40 years old and still one of the best in the league doing it. He’s big, tall, kind of a linear guy, long arms, kind of similar to me. [I’m] watching him and just watch what he does and learn anything new I can from him.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
MW: I’m living down in Arizona right now. I love to hike, I love to go outside, just take walks. I love to read. When I’m back home in Minnesota, you’ll catch me fishing out on the lakes all year round, winter [or] summer.
JI: I know hockey and ice fishing are huge up there. Do you have experience with either of those?
MW: I never played hockey. I always played the boot hockey on the ice with buddies, but I don’t even think I can skate, if they make skates big enough for me [laughs]. But I like ice fishing. I’ll go ice fishing all the time. I love that.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
MW: You’d be getting a mean, tough, physical, smart offensive lineman who is competitive and won’t back down from any challenges.
