Baltimore Ravens draft Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu in 6th round of 2023 NFL Draft
The Baltimore Ravens have drafted former Oregon OL Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu in the 6th round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Aumavae-Laulu, a native of Hawaii, began his collegiate career at Navarro College where he went on to become the top-ranked junior college player in the country by JCGridiron.com ahead of the 2018 season. He was a reserve at Oregon for the first two seasons after commiting, but was a major staple of the Ducks’ efforts in the trenches during 2021 and 2022.
His 904 snaps played during his senior season was the most out of any lineman on the team. Aumavae-Laulu played 2,007 career snaps across four seasons at Oregon, including 1,823 at right tackle and 184 at right guard. He allowed just 14 total pressures in 442 pass-blocking opportunities, according to Pro Football Focus.
Aumavae-Laulu is just one of three Oregon OL that declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, joining Alex Forsyth and TJ Bass. The three were integral in giving Ducks QB1 Bo Nix the title of the least-sacked FBS quarterback in the country in 2022.
The former Oregon OL originally declared for last year’s NFL Draft, but ended up returning to Oregon for one final year. He ended up starting 14 games for the Ducks this past year, earning Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention by league coaches, and was named s athe Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week (Week 9).
What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu
NFL.com‘s Lance Zierlein provided the following analysis of Aumavae-Laulu.
“Powerful lineman whose lack of instincts and technique could make him a candidate for the practice squad as the jump-off point for his career. Aumavae-Laulu has the physical traits teams look for but lacks consistency with his hands and body composure getting into blocks,” Zierlein wrote. “His odds of roster success will be much higher at the guard position, where he has enough athletic ability and power to potentially fit a wide variety of run schemes while creating better matchups for him in protection.”
Zierlein lists Aumavae-Laulu’s biggest strengths coming in the form of his hands, power, can envelop rushers, and plays through the whistle. For his weaknesses, he notes that Aumavae-Laulu is prone to leading with his helmet, is sluggish when changing directions, is slow off the whistle, and lacks fluidity and quickness.