Colts find potential left tackle of the future in Bernhard Raimann at No. 77

INDIANAPOLIS — For two years now, the Colts have been looking for a potential long-term answer at the left tackle position, a spot left open when Anthony Castonzo retired at the end of the 2020 season.

Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard held off in 2021, refusing to compromise unless he found a player athletic enough to fit his prototype for the toughest position to play on the offensive line.

Ballard found his man in 2022, and on Friday, his trade down from his first pick, No. 42, gave him the extra third-rounder he needed to get him.

The Colts drafted Central Michigan left tackle Bernhard Raimann with the No. 77 pick, ticking off their third critical need of the draft after spending their first two picks on a wide receiver (Cincinnati’s Alec Pierce) and a tight end (Virgina’s Jelani Woods).

Raimann knew Indianapolis was interested.

He didn’t know the call was coming.

“It really was a surprise. I had some great talks with Coach (Chris) Strausser, I had some great meetings with the rest of the Colts staff as well, some scouts there. I just knew I was ready to work, wherever I was going to end up.”

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Work is what it’s going to take for Raimann to eventually assume the left tackle mantle left open by Castonzo. Indianapolis brought back veteran Matt Pryor on a one-year, $5.5 million deal to take the first shot at the left tackle spot, a move that means Raimann doesn’t have to start right away.

An important development for a player who is still learning the position.

Raimann’s not like most of the NFL draft prospects who heard their names called on Thursday and Friday. Born and raised in Vienna, Austria, Raimann grew up playing soccer and other sports, until one day when he saw a couple of kids playing catch with a football.

The big kid joined the game, had a blast and tried out the next season for the Vienna Vikings, an American football team in Austria. That tryout led to a season of high school football in Michigan, then a scholarship to Central Michigan as a tight end.

Two seasons into his career, the Chippewas asked him to make the move to tackle, a move that put him in the position played by Sebastian Vollmer, another European — Vollmer is from West Germany — who built a career as a tackle with the New England Patriots.

Raimann devoured the tape, listened to the coaching staff and built himself into an NFL prospect.

“My work ethic, it wouldn’t let me stop, it wouldn’t let me go to sleep at night until I got my reps perfect,” Raimann said. “I was out there on the field by myself, trying to get everything worked out.”

Raimann played well enough to put himself on a path to the NFL.

The week of the Super Bowl, at an NFL International event, he got to meet his hero.

“That was an awesome experience for me, meeting my football idol,” Raimann said. “That was a huge thing for me.”

But Raimann has the kind of athleticism Tollner never had.

Massive at 6-6, 303 pounds, Raimann put up numbers in every single physical testing component at the NFL scouting combine that place him among the top testing numbers a tackle can possess.

Raimann’s arms aren’t the perfect length, but he’s got the athleticism Ballard wants out of a potential franchise left tackle.

“I take a lot of pride in my athleticism, I keep working on it no matter how much weight I gain,” Raimann said. “For me, it’s a really important part of my game.”

Strausser’s job is to help Raimann reach the top of that athletic potential, a role that should be helped by playing next to All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson.

“His nastiness, his ability to finish is something I look forward to in my game,” Raimann said. “Getting the chance to practice with him, learn from him, work with him every single day, it’s a huge opportunity.”

For Raimann, and for the Colts.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NFL Draft 2022: Colts select left tackle Bernhard Raimann