Netane

Muti

The Broncos signed Muti as a UDFA out of Fresno State in 2020. He struggled in his lone start at right guard as a rookie. In his second season, Muti earned starts at right and left guard. Pro Football Focus graded him as improving at both run and pass-blocking, though he was still a below-average guard. He was competing for a starting job in training camp but ultimately lost the camp battle. Still only 23 years old, Muti could draw some interest when waivers run.

Via The Athletic’s draft guru, Dane Brugler, “A three-year starter at Fresno State, Muti started at left guard in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme. The durability issues and lack of tangible football experience are legitimate concerns, learning the sport in high school and then suffering three separate season-ending injuries over the last four years. Muti is a combative blocker and owns the core power and torque to displace defenders, flashing the violence in his hands to thud his target. He tends to get grabby with his hands and needs to streamline his technique because he won’t be able to simply overpower his opponents at the next level. Overall, Muti has NFL-starting talent and was worthy of top-50 draft consideration on ability alone, but his injury history and concerns about reliability make it tough to accurately predict his NFL future.”

Via The Athletic’s draft guru, Dane Brugler, “A three-year starter at Fresno State, Muti started at left guard in offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme. The durability issues and lack of tangible football experience are legitimate concerns, learning the sport in high school and then suffering three separate season-ending injuries over the last four years. Muti is a combative blocker and owns the core power and torque to displace defenders, flashing the violence in his hands to thud his target. He tends to get grabby with his hands and needs to streamline his technique because he won’t be able to simply overpower his opponents at the next level. Overall, Muti has NFL-starting talent and was worthy of top-50 draft consideration on ability alone, but his injury history and concerns about reliability make it tough to accurately predict his NFL future.”

Muti (6'3/315) doesn’t lack for toughness or strength, as evidenced by his 44 reps in the bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine. But what was lacking throughout much of his Fresno State career was game action as he suffered two significant injuries. Due to an Achilles tendon rupture in 2018 and a Lisfranc fracture in 2019, Muti appeared in just five games total during those two seasons. The good news for Muti was that he was given full clearance to participate in the Combine, but his medical records will be scrutinized heavily by teams that may consider selecting him later this month.

Zierlein refers to the 6-foot-3, 315-pound Muti as a "[t]hick-boned guard prospect with heavy hands, booming upper body power and a limited amount of game reps due to a series of serious injuries.” On the booming upper body power front, Muti rocked 44 reps in the bench press at the combine, while on the injury front, Rotoworld’s Thor Nystrom reported earlier this spring that Muti received full clearance from doctors in Indianapolis and would have taken part in Fresno State’s pro day had that not been scuttled by the coronavirus. Zierlein sees Muti as a potential starter for down-the-road if his body allows it, particularly if he lands with a “downhill team.” He could potentially come off the board at some point on Day 2 after the draft boots up in late April.

Muti’s NFL Combine participation was limited to the bench press, which he crushed with 44 reps, and team interviews. Heading into the Combine, Muti (6'3/315) was said to be around “90 percent” healthy in recovering from a foot injury that derailed the back half of his season, so he did not want to test at anything less than 100%. Thankfully, according to Nystrom, Muti will be 100% in a couple weeks, just in time for him to perform at Fresno State’s pro day. If the rest of Muti’s testing is even close to as impressive as his bench press, he will be in a good spot moving into April.

Muti put up a herculean display on the bench as no other OL managed to crack 40-reps, with the closest being Indiana OL Simon Stepaniak who squeezed out 37 reps. It was an impressive performance from Muti who is considered an elite guard prospect and a fringe top-100 player by many draft analysts. His biggest question mark is his ability to stay healthy as Muti has suffered multiple season-ending injuries in his Fresno State career.

Renner took it a step further by using those traits as justification for Muti (6'3/307) to be ranked as the top guard in this class. This is high praise for Muti, who is largely considered a fringe top-100 player for many other analysts. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, for example, did not list Muti in his top-10 IOL list ahead of the NFL Combine. Muti has suffered multiple season-ending injuries over his career, however, and that health risk is a larger factor in other analysts being lower on Muti than his actual play is.

While Muti is a talented lineman when healthy -- he comes equipped with a strong pair of hands and a flexible lower body -- the 6-foot-3, 307-pounder has been plagued by injuries throughout his collegiate career. He missed the whole of the 2018 campaign with a ruptured Achilles tendon and managed to play in just three games in 2019 before a foot injury scuttled him for the campaign. Medical checks will be key for him this spring if he is to have any chance of scraping through with a late Day 3 selection. His most likely path to the pros will probably come fighting his way off the UDFA scrap pile, though.

As Brugler writes, Muti missed all of the 2018 season with an Achilles tendon rupture. Muti (6'3/307) was playing left tackle that season, but now healthy again in 2019, Muti has slid back inside to guard. Brugler cites Muti’s lower-body flexibility and strong hands as key selling points for the Mountain West OL. The college football world will get a chance to see Muti play next on Oct. 12 when Fresno State take on Air Force.