One of the top offensive line prospects in the 2025 draft comes from the Purdue Boilermakers. Here’s more on Marcus Mbow.
One of my favorite times of the year is writing the Seattle Seahawks Draft Reports. I’ve already nailed it with these players: Byron Murphy II, Christian Haynes, Tyrice Knight, Devon Witherspoon, Zach Charbonnet, Olu Oluwatimi, Kenny McIntosh, Boye Mafe, Abe Lucas, and Riq Woolen, to name a few from the last three years.
We’re still in Year 2 of Mike Macdonald, so it’s still early to set trends, just like it was in Pete Carroll’s time. Obviously, John Schneider is still in charge and should follow some of these guidelines.
We’ll continue to have a lot of players between now and the draft:
Let’s go to the report om Purdue’s Marcus Mbow!
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2025 Draft Reports:
Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
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Prospect Info
Name: Marcus Mbow
Jersey #: 63
College: Purdue Boilermakers
Position: G/C
Awards: – Second Team Freshman All-America (2022)
– Three-time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (2022, 2023, 2024)
Class: Junior
Style: Agile
Comparison: Jonah Williams
Projection: 2nd round
Combine/Pro Day Results
HT 6’4
WT 303
Arms: 32”
Wingspan N/A
Hands 10 1/2”
40 yds N/A
10 yd split N/A
Short Shuttle: 4.67s
3 Cone Drill: N/A
VJ N/A
BJ N/A
Bench Press N/A
RAS: N/A
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Background
A standout athlete who played multiple sports in high school, Marcus Mbow brought that athleticism to his game at Purdue. He began his career at Purdue after a redshirt year, playing RG in 14 games in the 2022 season. The following year he was moved to the RT role. He played in six games but a leg injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2023 season. In 2024 he returned to the starting lineup, finishing his career with 18 games as RT and seemingly no recurring issues from the 2023 injury.
Evaluating the prospect…
Athletic Ability
Nimble feet. He moves effortlessly in the open field, taking good angles and getting to targets quickly at the second level.
You’ll rarely hear “Player X’s tape is fun to watch” and this player is an offensive lineman. With Mbow it’s different, he brings something new to every snap and has an unusually aggressive mindset.
Again he attacks with what appears to be a pass rusher’s power club.
Mbow gets to the upper levels very quickly and always takes good angles. Can impose himself on smaller defenders.
He uses his club move and then notice how he has the speed to get past a smaller defender and takes the right angle to give the ball carrier space.
Running Game
Aggressive mindset to take down his opponent at all costs.
Gets to the point quickly and moves with ease.
Needs to improve hand positioning as a run blocker.
Anchoring
A stunt and he can’t contain the DT’s strength.
Pass Protection
It all starts with his pass set. He is aggressive and goes towards the defender to take away his timing of the play. He finishes with his lethal snatch and trap.
Again, he manipulates the EDGE with his pass set. He takes a step towards him and goes back to his standard kick-slide after disrupting the defender’s plans.
It looks like his hands are on fire. Always active and with an excellent strike in another snatch and trap.
Jump set to close the space against the defender, makes him change his route and then delivers a strong strike to take him down.
Good job against one of the best players in the class in Penn State’s Abdul Carter.
Hump, Stab, and long-arm are his biggest weaknesses in pass protection.
He is good at identifying stunts but has a tendency to keep his hand on the crasher for too long, making it harder for him to get to the looper.
Again, his aggressiveness to defend the inside space opens up space for the blitzer/stunt and his footwork is not enough for him to get to the block in time.
STRENGTHS:
– Good angles on the second level.
– Athleticism;
– Technical player;
– Hand positioning;
– Aggressive mentality;
WEAKNESSES:
– Arm length should force him to play inside;
– Anchoring;
– Work against power rushers;
Final Thoughts
Mbow is one of my favorite prospects in this class. I have him as a center at the next level, but he has the versatility to play guard and still be an emergency OT. His athleticism is an excellent fit for Klint Kubiak’s zone scheme and playing inside would “hide” his lack of arm length.