Cody Mauch Improvement Lauded
January 17th, 2025
Graded in and out of Bucs headquarters.
Forget Mike Evans, Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht has his own streak. It’s finding quality offensive lineman at schools big and small.
Fans from Palm Harbor to Polk County were looking for right guard Cody Mauch to improve in his sophomore season, and he got the job done.
The 2023 second-round pick out of North Dakota State drew major love from his head coach this week as Todd Bowles evaluated him on the Buccaneers Radio Network.
“He doesn’t get a lot of credit, either,” Bowles said of Mauch. “His first year to second year, he’s grown.”
Bowles gushing about the huge improvement in right tackle Luke Goedeke, a 2022 second-round pick out of Central Michigan, and noted that when it came to development this season, Mauch was right there with him.
“Luke is No. 1. Cody is 1A,” Bowles said.
The PFF Tribe also is the Mauch train, labeling him the Bucs’ most improved player, per their flawed grading system.
Cody Mauch struggled in his first season in the NFL, he was inserted into the Buccaneers’ lineup as their starting right guard from Day 1 and looked off the pace for large stretches of the season. He allowed 48 pressures and seven sacks, earning a 44.7 grade in 1,102 offensive snaps. Improvement was needed across the board, and Mauch delivered in 2024.
The former No. 49 overall pick was excellent in his second season, allowing a 2.7% pressure rate, the sixth-lowest among all guards, and his total pressures allowed dropped to just 18, which was 30 fewer than just a year ago. Mauch’s overall grade improved to 75.4, the 15th-highest among guards in 2024. The improvement after just one year has been remarkable.
Joe likes the eye test. Mauch added weight last offseason and he played stronger, Joe believes. The way the Bucs were running the ball, clearly there was no huge weak link on the line, and Mauch is athletic when he pulls.
If left guard Ben Bredeson leaves in free agency, Joe has no doubt that Licht will fill the whole successfully, through the draft or with last year’s sixth-round pick Elijah Klein.
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January 17th, 2025 at 10:13 am
For comparison, PFF had Mauch around 75 and Bredeson in the 50’s along with Barton. Barton will get better in his second year. But can Bredeson get much better?
In a couple games at the end, Klein got in the game at RG replacing Mauch. I was surprised he wasn’t at LG, but then again Klein was a RG in college.
January 17th, 2025 at 10:15 am
Did Klein play any snaps?
Any intel on development?
I would be surprised if Bredeson hit the bricks…
January 17th, 2025 at 10:18 am
Goedeke made a huge jump from Year 1 to 2
Mauch made the same jump from Year 1 to 2
We can assume Barton will be much improved next year, too. Our OL should be tops in the NFL the next 3-5 years.
January 17th, 2025 at 10:24 am
The most obvious improvement in the whole line was run blocking, in my opinion.
January 17th, 2025 at 10:41 am
Gotta give some credit to the Offensive line coach and OC for playing design too.
January 17th, 2025 at 10:57 am
Not that we wouldn’t need more depth but Brederson leaves, I hope they resign Hainsey. Obviously fits well with the guys, a high end C backup and likely between him and Klein they can hold down the LG spot.
January 17th, 2025 at 11:06 am
Let Licht do his magic in plucking an O-line player from a small school in Round 6 or 7. Perhaps pick up a veteran in FA to replace Bedesen. However, the concentration in the draft needs to be on DE, ILB and CB. Go all in on the defensive side of the ball. Compared to our sorry pass defense, Bredesen’s deficiencies are inconsequential. Resign Godwin and the offense is golden. This should be easily doable as the CAP crunch has eased considerably.
January 17th, 2025 at 11:09 am
I love the fact these guys are superior players, AND are on rookie contracts
January 17th, 2025 at 11:21 am
It’ll only get better on offense, defense idk
January 17th, 2025 at 11:29 am
If Bredeson leaves, I’m draft a LT (to play LG) between rounds 3-5. Unless Klein is a gem, I see him and Hainsey as backups.
January 17th, 2025 at 11:51 am
Dude took a major step up! Let’s hope Barton and Braswell do the same next season.
January 17th, 2025 at 11:59 am
Run blocking scheme change and getting the ball out of the QB’s hands helped this OL.
All those downfield no-risk-it-no-bicuit throws just caused too much trouble.
Coen was a god send and now we know what works.
January 17th, 2025 at 12:33 pm
I heard him pronounce his name in the game introduction
M’oh k. Moook
I thought it was pronounced Mah’k
January 17th, 2025 at 1:01 pm
Yeah, you’re right Bob. Klein is an unknown and I don’t want Hainsey starting there.
January 17th, 2025 at 1:14 pm
Our line is solid, as well as our backups. That is hard to come by in the NFL. I’m almost of the opinion that we should splurge and make a run for the superbowl before some of these guys want big bucks.
January 17th, 2025 at 1:26 pm
I guess the Joe-Joes forgot the number of penalties he had all season.
January 17th, 2025 at 1:35 pm
I’ll bet we lose Hainsey. I’m sure there’s at least a few teams for whom he’s an upgrade
January 17th, 2025 at 2:50 pm
We’ve been pretty darn successful drafting and developing oline under Licht
January 17th, 2025 at 2:58 pm
Several Offensive line were surprised how good of a first step Elijah Klein had coming off the line. I think Klein will be surprising good.
January 17th, 2025 at 4:39 pm
Cody improved greatly as the year went along – I think a lot of that had to do with the pretty complex scheme the Bucs were running. Barton and Cody both looked lost at times early in the year – and all the dopes in the comments here were demanding that Cody be benched, because, of course they had no idea what they were watching, and in fact a lot of times Cody was ‘beat’, it was actually Barton who wasn’t helping with design double team blocks where you come in at angles.
The standout game to me was vs the Eagles, that’s were Cody really shined to me when he was standing up Jalen Carter on a bunch of plays – one on one, and not giving an inch. It was really impressive, and showed me his biggest issue from year one (his strength) was no longer an issue.
Let this be a lesson to people … offensive lineman taken from small schools need time to develop, mainly in the strength department. We’ve seen this over and over again, so maybe you dummies actually remember it this time. Yes, once and a while you’ll get a Marpet who can come in one day one and play at a high level, but most guys take a year to develop. Also Licht’s track record on offensive lineman is incredible, so he should always get the benefit of the doubt.
January 17th, 2025 at 4:44 pm
AlabamaBucsFan Says:
January 17th, 2025 at 2:58 pm
Several Offensive line were surprised how good of a first step Elijah Klein had coming off the line. I think Klein will be surprising good.
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Now he’s much more of a lottery ticket than past Licht picks as he was taken later in the draft. Also Licht went away from what he normally does and took a true guard, where as Licht generally just takes college tackles because they’re more athletic. With that said, as a late round pick, he absolutely needs at least a year to get his strength up, and it will be interesting to see how he looks next season, if the Bucs think he’s a guy who can start or if he’s seen more as a depth piece. Again, Licht’s track record on offensive lineman is spectacular, so it wouldn’t shock me if Klien suddenly looks like a solid NFL starter next year, but I think he might slower to develop.
January 17th, 2025 at 5:24 pm
I remember Licht getting criticized for taking Marpet in the second round. Most said you don’t take a small school guy before the fourth.
January 17th, 2025 at 5:43 pm
From what I understand Klein also has a real nasty streak.
I like both the “Big” and the “Nasty” in the Big Nasties…