Gottlieb Ayedze, OT, Maryland
Size:
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 308 pounds
Arm Length: 33”
Hand Size: 9 7/8"
Accomplishments:
First Team All-MEC (2022) • AFCA First Team All-American (2022)
“Gottlieb Ayedze is a toolsy, developmental, and multi-positional offensive lineman.”
Strengths:
Fluid athlete
NFL feet
Strong foundation of traits
Concerns:
Drifts and gives up too much on vertical pass sets
Struggles with control and body balance, often finding himself out of frame on tough blocks
Doesn’t compensate for lack of strength/power well
Film Analysis:
A standout at Division II Frostburg before transferring to Maryland for the 2023 season, Gottlieb Ayedze is a traitsy offensive line product with his best football ahead of him.
Ayedze has a strong foundation of tools that allowed him to remain productive at Maryland amidst his transition to Division I football. His fluid athleticism and solid footwork highlight his potential as a multi-positional asset along the offensive line. However, in pass protection, Ayedze occasionally struggles, often giving up ground too readily and compromising pocket integrity. A tendency to prioritize footwork over effective hand usage poses challenges and requires refinement, particularly at the next level. I’d also like to see Ayedze add more to his bag of tricks. Primarily a vertical setter, I’d like to see him mix things up more to play to his strengths.
As a run blocker, Ayedze actually starts to use his length more to his advantage. While there isn’t much power he covers up well at the point of attack with tight hands and extending defenders off of his body. When working double teams he doesn’t have good landmark placement and this often suppresses his ability to get movement off the line. These minute details are correctable issues that I fully expect Ayedze to improve on. I don’t like Ayedze much in gap schemes—for the landmark issues stated earlier—but I also question his contact courage as a pulling blocker. Keeping Ayedze in a majority-zone-specific scheme will allow teams to take full advantage of his skillset.
With all of this being said, Ayedze is a blank canvas. He was not exposed to football until his senior year of high school. It’s hard to be over-critical of his film without accounting for the incredibly impressive improvements he’s made in such a short amount of time playing high-level football. It’d be foolish to think these improvements would halt.
Navigating Ayedze's draft projection proves challenging, given his status as a project player. However, a team willing to invest in his development stands to benefit from his evolving skill set and versatility. With the right nurturing environment, Ayedze could evolve into a dependable backup option, offering value across multiple positions along the offensive line.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Role Specific Contributor
