Senior

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Height: 6’7″

Weight: 312 lbs.

Prior to the 2016 season, Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey played his entire career at right tackle. This was due to now Baltimore Ravens tackle Ronnie Stanley holding down the left tackle spot.

The Irish coaching staff decided to transition McGlinchey over to being the blindside protector for quarterback Deshone Kizer and the Irish offense.

Listed at 6-foot-7, 312 pounds (NFLDraftScout.com), he has tremendous size for an NFL tackle.

What’s to love about McGlinchey?

He has very good technique, footwork and upper-body strength. His pass-set are fluid, and he’s very rarely beaten cleanly by speedy edge rushers.

His hand usage is above average and is still an area where he can improve upon, but going back to South Bend, he still has time to improve in that facet.

Named a team captain, McGlinchey has leadership qualities and is well respected not only by his teammates, but around the entire country.

Let’s take a deep dive into some of his best traits and some others that he needs to improve on entering his final season.

McGlinchey’s technique is textbook. Getting depth and setting vertically, his pass-set is extremely fluid. There is no wasted movement. He looks as if he was naturally born to be an offensive tackle.

In the example above, it gives you a clear picture of McGlinchey’s (left tackle, No. 68) pass set and just how fluid he looks. The defender attempts to bull-rush him after initially rushing hard up-field.

McGlinchey easily adjusts and beats the rusher to the punch. He does not let the defender into his chest — extending his arms. His ability to anchor down and force the rusher to “run the hoop” around the quarterback is picture perfect.

• Footwork

Although not extremely light on his feet, McGlinchey has average footwork. In the run game, he understands the proper angles and steps he has to take in order to successfully block his defender.

He always keeps his feet alive and never gets them stuck in the ground.

An offensive lineman should always keep his feet moving no matter what. Getting as much push as possible and clearing lanes for runners.

McGlinchey consistently does this.

• Nasty/Mean Streak

An area of an offensive lineman’s game that evaluators love to see is their ability to finish. Do they stop when the whistle is blown or are they attempting to put every defender they encounter on their back?

McGlinchey has a very impressive mean streak. Considering that he’s playing alongside another highly touted draft prospect in left guard Quenton Nelson, they exemplify a dynamic duo.

Feeding off of each other, McGlinchey has the mentality that he wants to embarrass every defensive lineman or linebacker that he’s assigned to.

Weaknesses

Where McGlinchey needs his biggest improvement is in his core strength. He shows tremendous strength at times, but on multiple occasions in the running game, he routinely seems to randomly lose his footing.

This may be due to his core strength not being tight or very strong at the moment.

Strength in that area helps blockers explode from the hips and drive defenders backward.

• Overall Athleticism/Balance

Despite being very tall for an offensive tackle, McGlinchey has  good ball get-off — meaning that he has a good feel for when to exactly begin his pass sets or run blocking assignment in order to defeat defenders.

He possesses extremely long arms, so it is hard for rushers to actually get hands on him.

Having an impressive physique at offensive tackle sometimes comes with deficiencies though.

McGlinchey is a bit of a lunger.

“Waist bender” is the most common term heard by fans. Being a waist bender means that he has a bad tendency to bend at the waist and duck his head when making blocks.

Doing this blinds you from the actual defender and that you are in no control of your body movements.

This is one of the biggest reasons why I think McGlinchey is best suited as a right tackle as opposed to being a left tackle on the next level.

He has another season to build upon some of his strengths and weaknesses at left tackle, but he looked to be much more comfortable at right tackle prior to last season.

Regardless, McGlinchey is on track to be one of the best offensive lineman in the 2018 draft. He has some flaws that he needs to clean up, but there are a lot of traits to like about his playing-style.

NFL Comparison: Ricky Wagner

Summer Draft Grade: First-Round

For NFL news and draft analysis, follow J.R. on Twitter @JReidDraftScout.