He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and was selected by New York in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft.

[2] Nick Mangold attended Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio, where he was a letterman in football, wrestling, and track & field.

He was rated on a par with former Buckeye All-American and 2001 Rimington Trophy winner LeCharles Bentley by offensive line coach Jim Bollman.

[4] When Stepanovich returned, he shifted to guard while Nick Mangold continued to man the center position.

He finished his career with 33 starts in 45 games After a "tremendous performance" at the 2006 Senior Bowl,[6] Mangold was widely regarded as the top center available in the 2006 NFL draft, ahead of 2005 Outland and Rimington Trophy winner Greg Eslinger.

Replacing Kevin Mawae at center, Mangold had a good rookie season, allowing only 0.5 sacks, committing only three penalties and making all the line calls.

[citation needed] He was so impressive he garnered some Rookie of the Year talks,[14] an honor that is not usually mentioned about centers.

The Jets made the playoffs twice during the span in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, but lost to the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers in two AFC Championship games respectively.

[16] By signing this contract, Mangold became the highest paid center in the NFL,[16] but has since been surpassed by Ryan Kalil and Alex Mack.

[18] He was replaced by undrafted rookie Colin Baxter, who would take his position at center as Mangold missed the next two games due to a high ankle sprain.

In 2012, Mangold started all 16 games, but was not named to the Pro Bowl, as his All-Star years ended after a four-year streak.

[20][21] The team was coming off a poor season and entering a rebuilding mode, prompting them to offload Mangold's salary.

[22] On September 25, 2022, during a halftime ceremony at Metlife Stadium Mangold was inducted into the New York Jets "Ring of Honor".

[citation needed] He appeared virtually on the January 22, 2021 episode of the television game show Let's Make a Deal to help an in-studio contestant win a truck.