2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: OT Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan

Bernhard Raimann has enough skills and traits to where he could make for a good developmental prospect at tackle.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Mar 31, 2022 9:18 AM EDT

In this story:

Bernhard Raimann, OT

Height: 6’6
Weight: 303 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Central Michigan
Arm length: 32 ⅞”
Hands: 10 ¼”

A former two-star recruit out of Delton, Michigan, where he attended Delton-Kellogg High School, Raimann was recruited to play tight end and spent his freshman season as a TE; he caught ten passes on 18 targets for 88-yards in 2018 and 10 catches on 17 targets for 76 yards in 2019 before fully transitioning to offensive tackle. Raimann started his final two years at Central Michigan at left tackle.

Raimann was born in Steinbrunn, Austria, and started playing football for the Vienna Vikings youth team at 14. He was an exchange student at Delton-Kellogg High School as a junior in high school. He completed his compulsory service in the Austrian military and attended Central Michigan to play football.

Notables

The raw Austrian recruit came into his own as a senior in college. He only allowed ten pressure and a sack in 2021; four of those pressures and the sack were against Missouri in Week 1. He played 895 snaps in 2021 and 447 in 2020; he only allowed five pressures in 2020. Raimann had a solid week at the Reese’s Senior Bowl and then later attended the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.

40-yard-dash: 5.05
Bench press: 30
Vertical jump: 30.5
Broad jump: 117
3-Cone: 7.46
Short-shuttle: 4.49

Strengths

Great height, and good frame - carries weight well
Very athletic and light on his feet, solid change of direction and lateral movement skills
Has good quickness off the snap
Very good flexibility and bend in his lower half
Balanced shooting out of his set
Solid overall footwork - gains good depth in his sets
New to OT - a pro and con - still has a lot of room to grow
Has tight elbows while striking
Hands can be late, but he does a solid job fitting them inside when he’s quick to fire
Showed solid grip strength once hands were established
Does solid job splitting rushers up the arc and riding them away from the pocket
In DEUCE block situations, he does a good job quickly transitioning to second-level
Athletic enough to do a good job locating smaller defenders
Solid overall run blocker with a ton of pass blocking upside
Would be excellent potential in zone blocking scheme that takes advantage of his ability to reach block
Does well a good job handling backside responsiblities
Good competitiveness through the whistle
Showed good football IQ with twists/stunts for a player with his experience

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Can Improve

Arm length is on the short side for an OT
Will lean over his toes which leads to balance issues
Needs to sink his center of gravity, leverage should improve
Hands are a bit winding and slow coming into contact
Hands aren’t very violent
Thought he could do a better job refitting his strike, but considering the newness of the position, this shouldn’t be a huge concern
Isn’t great at protecting his edges, grip strength/block framing could improve
Power rushers got into his chest and popped him back
Drive on contact could improve
Doesn’t impose a lot of power at the point of attack
Raw, Limited experience at OT
Will be an older prospect

Summary

Overall, Bernhard Raimann is a ton of upside and is an excellent athlete who developed quickly to the nuances of playing the offensive line. There’s still a ton of room for improvement, and he’s not a fully polished prospect.

He may need a year of development, but his athletic upside is rare for 6’6 players. He’s a bit older and doesn’t have the same pop as other tackle prospects, but I completely understand why he’s desirable near the top of Day 2.

GRADE: 6.31