Football Draft Focus

Player: Bernhard Raimann
School: Central Michigan Chippewas
Height: 6’7″
Weight: 305 lbs
40 time: TBD

Bernhard Raimann Strengths

• Athletic
• Solid in pass and run blocking

We doing a little background research on Raimann, I was surprised to see that he was actually recruited as a tight end. During his first two seasons with Central Michigan he caught 20 passes for 164 yards. Before his junior season he put on 50 pounds and moved over to the left tackle spot. When you watch him move, you can still see the athleticism that allowed him to be a tight end at his size. He’s smooth and fluid when pulling or getting up to the second level.

And for someone that’s only been a left tackle for two years, he already solid in both phases of blocking. While pass blocking he gets himself into position quickly and has a nice base. In run blocking he exploded off the ball like he’s trying to run a route. You can still see he’s a little raw at times, but the upside on Raimann is huge.

Bernhard Raimann Weaknesses

• Awareness
• Gets to upright

There were times where Raimann showed how fresh he was to the left tackle position. His awareness is going to need to improve, which will come with time. There were more than a couple moments where he would misread the defense, and not pick up where the blitz was coming from. This led to free rushers. You would even see this from time to time while he was run blocking. He’d just be out in front of the runner and miss a defender or two who would make the tackle.

Seeing how he’s 6’7″, getting to upright at times is going to be hard not to do. But you would see smaller defenders be able to get him off balance and out leverage him because of it. I think this is something that a good offensive line coach will help correct at the NFL level. Have to remember, he’s only be doing this for two seasons, and 2020 was only six games.

Draft Thoughts

While he’s still raw, I love the upside that Raimann has shown. Given that he’s playing at the level he’s currently playing at, and he’s only had 18 live games to get there, it’s quite impressive. I watched film of both the LSU and Missouri games, and in both he looked like he belonged on the field. He’ll get another chance to show what he can do against top talent in the Senior Bowl in mobile, along with his teammate Luke Goedeke.

When looking ahead to the draft, I like Bernhard as a solid second round pick. And that’s mainly just because of how raw of a talent he still is. If he had a little more experience and time to clean up some of the small things, he’d be closer to a first rounder. I like him more than popular bigger school prospects like Ohio State’s Nicholas Petit-Frere.  But that’s just my opinion. NFL Mock Draft Database has a similar ranking for Raimann. Based on their information, he’s the 45th rank prospect for the entire draft.