With his upcoming selection in the draft, Bernhard Raimann is likely to be the first Austrian to play an NFL game in almost 35 years. So far, red-white-red players in the US professional league in American football have only been active in the special position of the kicker. As the first field player, namely in the offensive line, the 24-year-old from Burgenland would also make history in this respect.
Three Austrians played in the NFL in the 1970s and 1980s. Former national soccer player Toni Fritsch won the Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys in 1972, Raimund “Ray” Wersching was successful in 1982 and 1985 with the San Francisco 49ers. In 1987, the emigrant son from Mondsee also played the last NFL game by an Austrian. Third in the league of NFL Austrians was Toni Linhart, who was born in Styria.
There are currently three Austrians in the orbit of the professional football league. In addition to Raimann, who can hope for a regular place, Bernhard Seikovits (Arizona Cardinals) and Sandro Platzgummer (New York Giants) have been in training squads for one and two years respectively. In contrast to Raimann, both had come to their clubs via the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program (IPPP).
An Austrian has never been drafted in the NFL
In the April 28-30 NFL Draft, 32 teams will pick their favorites from among the best college grads available. The 24-year-old offensive tackle has already passed his castings. “Now it’s time to wait,” emphasized Raimann, who has teamed up with a well-known player agency, which only underlines his good prospects.
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Experts see Raimann as a candidate for the first round of the draft, and an interested team is likely to snap up in the second round at the latest. “Whatever should happen should happen. I’ve already handed in all my tests and job interviews. Now it’s up to the teams to decide whether they want to select me or not,” said the Burgenlander.
Anyone who is already selected in round one is not just a millionaire in one go – their chances of becoming a regular player within a short time are very good. “It would be a sensation for Austrian football if it was drafted, especially if it was drafted high,” emphasized Michael Eschlböck, President of the local association AFBÖ. “It would be the first time in history for an Austrian.”
The standard for the position is a height of 2 meters and a weight of at least 130 kilos – Bernhard Raimann fulfills these requirements, who has had to put on a lot of weight in the past two years.
Image: GEPA pictures/ SIPA USA/ USA TODAY/ Kirby Lee (GEPA pictures)
The task of the offensive tackle is to enable the attacking game of his team via run or pass with targeted blocks. Above all, however, players like Raimann should protect the quarterback, the most important man in the team, from the attacking defenders. The best talents in this position are correspondingly sought after and are accordingly well paid in the NFL.
Special career
Raimann’s career is also so amazing because the Austrian only switched to the technically demanding tackle position two years ago. Before that, he held a completely different role, namely passport recipient. As a 14-year-old he played with the Vienna Vikings wide receiver, at Delton-Kellogg High School in Michigan and at college he was initially a tight end.
When there was suddenly a tackle bottleneck at Central Michigan in 2020, Raimann retrained and, in addition to 25 additional kilograms of body weight, made an impressive development that led him to the Senior Bowl, the College All-Star Game, earlier this year . With 18 career starts as a left tackle, the Burgenlander is still quite inexperienced, but this also means that there is still more potential in him. “I think he’s going to be a lot better in the years to come because he’s still learning the position,” said Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain. “It’s a diamond that’s no longer quite raw, but you still have to fine-tune the edges and corners,” said Eschlböck.
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In Michigan, that’s the current plan, Raimann will also follow the draft with the entire family at his girlfriend’s, with whom he has been together for several years. He doesn’t make the trip to Las Vegas, where the talent education takes place this year.
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Raimann could become the first Austrian to get a place on an NFL team via draft. “For me personally, of course, it would be a great honor if it worked that way. However, the draft is of course only the beginning and not the end goal,” he explained. “I would certainly be happy at the moment, but after that it’s just on to the next goal.”
Raimann’s position is one of the most important in football
The left tackle is part of the so-called offensive line, or O-line for short. This line of scrimmage consists of five players in the front line, composed of two tackles, two guards and the center. The center passes the football to the quarterback on command, starting a play. As a result, all five O-Liners are busy blocking the attacking defenders to give the quarterback enough time to throw.
The left tackle is the leftmost person on the O-Line. This is the side where a right-handed quarterback is most vulnerable. Why? When a right-handed quarterback wants to throw, he stands left foot, left shoulder forward and has an excellent view of the right touchline and the field in front of him. However, he doesn’t see if a defender is attacking him from the left because his back is turned to her. Therefore one speaks of the “blind side”.
The left tackle should defend exactly this blind side so that the quarterback is not suddenly run over. Because the risk of injury when it rains that you can’t see coming is great. Only the tallest and strongest athletes are used in this position. The standard for the position is a height of 2 meters and a weight of at least 130 kilos – Bernhard Raimann fulfills these requirements, who has had to put on a lot of weight in the past two years.
