Bernhard Raimann's Pass Pro Struggles on Full Display vs. Eagles
The Indianapolis Colts selected left tackle Bernhard Raimann with the 77th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Despite being 25 years old at the time of his selection, Raimann was a player that's still relatively young in the football world. He made just 17 starts at left tackle in his entire collegiate career.
Flashing forward to Raimann's rookie season with the Colts, it is quite easy to see how raw he is as a player on film. The two biggest concerns with him as a prospect were his arm length (and not having the perfect technique to overcome it) and his lack of a strong anchor. Those two major deficiencies were on full display against a stout Philadelphia Eagles' front on Sunday.
Raimann finished the day allowing two sacks, a QB hit, and a hurry in pass protection. He struggled mightily in one on one situations, and he showed that he is still a long way away from where the Colts need him to be at left tackle.
In today's film article, I dive into a few of these concerns in pass protection and talk about the long road ahead for the rookie.
Arm Length Concerns
Before we get into the film, let's talk about arm length as it relates to offensive tackles. The generally accepted arm length for offensive tackles is 34 inches. This number doesn't mean that a tackle is doomed to fail if they come up short of it, but it can be indicative in terms of future success in the league.
Future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas famously had shorter arms than the average, but he covered up that deficiency with elite footwork and technique. Colts' right tackle Braden Smith also has extremely short arms, but he has been able to get by with his brute strength and powerful hands.
The reason why Raimann's shorter arms are a concern (at the moment) is that he doesn't have that elite countermeasure for it. He is a phenomenal athlete, but he lacks the timing and the footwork to use that to his advantage. Until he develops his overall technique and timing, his shorter arms are always going to be a concern.
This first clip is exactly what I am talking about. Raimann has the athleticism to be able to mirror this rush on the outside, but he just isn't confident enough in his technique. He gets stuck in the mud as Josh Sweat shoots inside, and Raimann just doesn't have the length to cut off this inside move.
With better technique (or with longer arms) he could wall off this ferocious rush a bit better. The problem, at the moment, is that Raimann doesn't have either.
The other problem with having shorter arms at offensive tackle is that there is a lot less resistance for defensive ends to get their hands inside. A big part of the chess match between an OT and a DE comes down to which player can make first contact.
With Raimann's shorter arms, opposing defensive ends are going to make first contact more often than not. If he was a more developed player with counters in his toolbox, he may be able to combat this. Unfortunately, he just isn't there as a player right now. Hassan Reddick stacks and sheds him with ease on this key fourth quarter sack below:
The good part about this point is that Raimann can improve over time. He is still relatively new to playing offensive tackle, so he could stand to develop further with more playing time. This issue can be mitigated with better technique, so it shouldn't be a massive concern for his long term development.
Unfortunately, it's going to look pretty ugly on film until Raimann really finds his bearings at the position. A team like Philadelphia was simply built to feast on a player like Raimann.
Poor Anchor
Now this next issue is one that I am much more concerned about. Arm length concerns can be mitigated with better technique and more experience. A poor anchor, however, can be debilitating for an offensive lineman.
A good example of this is Sam Tevi, a player that briefly spent time with the Colts last offseason. He was an athletic player with good hands that always looked for work. The biggest issue in his game, though, was that anchor. That anchor was and still is the main reason why Tevi never found success in the NFL.
I am in no way comparing Raimann to Tevi, but that was just one example of what a bad anchor can do.
Raimann's anchor was an issue in college, and it is even a bigger concern in the NFL. He is getting rocked against power rushes, and it is hindering him in so many different ways. Even in the clips that I posted above, Raimann is slow with his feet because he is trying to brace for power.
He simply can't drop that anchor against power rushes. This clip below is just one example. Josh Sweat walks him into the quarterback's lap with a long arm rush:
Raimann was again beat by power on one of the final plays of the game. Brandon Graham simply converted speed to power from a wide nine look on this play, and Raimann had no response.
I am in no way burying a player in one of his first few starts in the league, but this is something that he is going to have to work on all offseason long. Offensive tackles simply can't survive in the NFL with this issue.
The Bottom Line
The book is far from closed on Colts' rookie left tackle Bernhard Raimann, but there are plenty of concerns in his game. These issues are going to continue to plague him, and the Colts' passing attack, for the rest of the season.
Long term, Raimann still has a chance to figure it out. He is a superb athlete that is still a fairly young football player. This experience could be good for a player with his skill set, as he will know exactly what he needs to work on come next offseason.
While this experience could be good for him, and for the Colts' future, it is going to be fairly messy for the rest of this season.
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