30 Days of Colts' Fits: Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan

The 2022 NFL Draft is officially just a month away. In order to help you all along until draft day, I decided to start a daily prospect spotlight series to talk about some players that the Colts could target next month.

The players mentioned in this series will be players that I have either heard that the team is really high on, or are players that just make way too much sense for the team based on fit/past draft history.

Next up on the countdown to Draftmas is Central Michigan offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann.

Background

Raimann had quite an unusual road to college football. He was born in Steinbrunn, Austria and didn't even start playing football until he hit high school. He became a foreign exchange student in 2016 and moved to Michigan to play a year of high school football in the United States.

After finishing his junior year of high school in the U.S, he moved back home to Austria and completed his mandatory six months in the military. He didn't play football in 2017, but he returned to the U.S in 2018 to play college ball at Central Michigan.

He began his career as a tight end and appeared in 11 games over two years at that position. He transitioned over to left tackle after his sophomore year and went on to start 18 games at that spot.

Raimann began seeing real NFL recognition/hype after his junior season. He was selected to Bruce Feldman's annual Freak's List and was invited to participate in the 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl after this past year.

Bernhard Raimann punishing a jumper… Those are the rules! @BrandonThornNFL pic.twitter.com/GdwTUpeARX
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) October 28, 2021

Size/Testing Numbers

Height: 6'6"

Weight: 301 pounds

Arm Length: 33 5/8 inches

Testing Numbers: 40 Time: 5.05 seconds / Bench Press: 30 reps / Vertical Jump: 30.5 inches / Broad Jump: 117 inches / Short Shuttle: 4.49 seconds / 3-Cone: 7.46 seconds

Film room preview: Bernhard Raimann breaking down one of my favorite reps on his 2021 film. Excellent example of what it looks like to stay leveraged on a block to finish. Footwork 🤌 pic.twitter.com/BsbtkSXsve
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) April 4, 2022

Ability on Film

Raimann is a phenomenal athlete that has all the makings of an elite pass protector. He plays with outstanding leverage at the point of attack and always stays light on his feet. He has the ability to mirror edge rushers at a high level in the NFL.

This play below is a good example of Raimann in pass protection. He slides out effortlessly to reach his edge rusher on the play. Once he reaches his block, he calmly stops the speed rush and stands his defender up on the outside. This is an tough set made to look easy against a strong LSU team.

Raimann's wrestling background shows up quite a bit in the run game. As I mentioned above, he wins with leverage on almost every snap. He is outstanding at working his hands inside and moving defenders at will in the run game.

This play below illustrates that well. He quickly jumps his defender on this run set and drives him out of the hole. He keeps his legs driving (and his hands inside) all the way to the ground on this rep.

Fit with the Colts/Team Interest

The Colts need to eventually address the issue of left tackle in the draft, at some point, in the Chris Ballard tenure. We are heading into year two of the post-Anthony Castonzo era and the team still doesn't have their left tackle of the future on the roster.

Raimann has every bit the potential to be a franchise left tackle in this draft class. He is an all time great athlete with outstanding hands and a strong understanding of how to use leverage. He is still a bit raw, and new to the position, but the arrow is certainly pointing up on his game.

In terms of interest, the Colts have done some work on Raimann this offseason. They talked to him at the Senior Bowl, and they sent Area Scout Chad Henry to his Pro Day a few weeks ago.

Overall, Raimann is an uber-talented tackle prospect that could be a franchise player on the left side of an offense. While his age may turn some teams away from his game, I personally think selecting Raimann would be a perfect use of the 42nd pick in the draft.

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