Riley Mahlman

Draft-Week Buzz

No verified pre-draft news items in the past 30 days for this prospect. See Day 2/3 Team Fits below for projected landing spots and /news.html for the cross-prospect timeline.

Background

Wisconsin OT from La Crosse (WI); four-year Badger starter with elite length (6-8).

College Production

2022-25 Wisconsin: 36+ career starts at RT.

Scouting Take

Length + intelligence combo; smart protection sorter. Athletic ceiling capped; anchor vs power modest.

Draft Projection

Round 7. Swing tackle depth with length-based development path.

Sources

• ESPN Player Page
• Wikipedia
• 247Sports Profile

Our scouting profile is assembled from these primary sources + cross-checked against ESPN (Kiper / Reid / Miller), PFF's 2026 Big Board, Dane Brugler's The Beast 2026, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50. See our full methodology and citations.

Day 2 / Day 3 Team Fits

NFL teams that lost a same-position veteran this offseason — and could target Riley Mahlman as a Day 2/3 replacement option.

• VERIFIED Kansas City Chiefs: moved on from Jawaan Taylor (power-LT) on 2026-03-04. [verified]
  Picks held: R1 #9; R1 #29 via Los Angeles Rams; R2 #40
• REPORTED Detroit Lions: moved on from Taylor Decker (outside-zone-LT).
  Picks held: R1 #17; R2 #50
• REPORTED Washington Commanders: moved on from Cornelius Lucas (swing-tackle).
  Picks held: R1 #7

Confidence: "VERIFIED" departures cite a publication URL (Spotrac, OverTheCap, ESPN, NFL.com, team transactions page) confirming the move and date. "REPORTED" entries come from public free-agency trackers without a single canonical source we could attach. Fits are archetype-and-position based; we are not claiming the team has expressed interest in the prospect.

NFL Scheme Fit

Scheme matches are bucketed from the prospect's height, weight, and (for WRs) archetype tag against a static lookup of which NFL teams currently run each scheme family.

Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook

Contract band uses the 2026 NFL CBA rookie wage scale projected from the prospect's expected pick range; guarantee % is the slot-default at that pick. Landing-spot best/worst case is derived from TEAMS data (positional needs + scheme overlap minus same-position R1 conflicts) — not a claim that either team has expressed interest.

Versatility, Limits & Roster Pathway

Derived from height/weight against the 2026 position cohort and the prospect's projected round. Versatility callouts identify alternate alignments NFL teams have historically used for similar size profiles. Limiting-trait notes flag the single most-cited measurable concern; severity reflects how often that flag ends a Day 1 starter projection. Roster-pathway notes describe the realistic Year 1 NFL role for Day 3 picks.

By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context

• Frame: Among 2026 OT prospects, his 6-8 / 320 lbs frame sits at the 100th percentile in height and 82nd percentile in weight.
• Position class: Riley Mahlman is OT #14 of 17 ranked OTs in the 2026 class. Of those, 5 are projected in the R7/UDFA range.
• School pipeline: One of 5 Wisconsin prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft — but the only OT.

Computed factually from the 2026 prospect class roster — height/weight percentiles benchmark this player against every other ranked prospect at the same position. Recruiting arc compares his high-school 247Sports/Rivals composite to his current projected round.

Riley Mahlman’s NFL Archetype: Trent Williams

Trent Williams (San Francisco 49ers)

Closest OT physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-8/320 lbs. Same frame, same role bucket — NOT a talent or career-arc projection.

Note: this is a physical-profile match — frame, position, role bucket. Not a talent or career-arc projection.

Similar Offensive Tackle Prospects

Closest matches to Riley Mahlman (6-8 / 320 lbs, #14 OT) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.

• Micah PettusSIZE MATCH Florida State · 6-7/320 lbs · #16 OT · UDFA
• Kellen DieschSIZE MATCH Washington State · 6-7/310 lbs · #12 OT · R6-R7
• Jeff PersiSIZE MATCH Pittsburgh · 6-7/315 lbs · #17 OT · UDFA
• Caleb TiernanSIZE MATCH Northwestern · 6-8/315 lbs · #9 OT · R2-R3
• Travis BurkeTIER MATCH Memphis · 6-6/305 lbs · #15 OT · R7-UDFA

→ Full Offensive Tackles rankings

Wisconsin & The 2026 Class