Lions draft prospect of the day: Tip Reiman, TE, Illinois

Lions draft prospect of the day: Tip Reiman, TE, Illinois scouting report

Today’s Lions Draft Prospect of the Day is an interesting tight end who appears to fit what the Lions want at the position. 

The focus for these potential Lions prospects is on players who should hold some appeal for Detroit in the draft. Not all of them will be prominent names or high draft picks, and that’s true of the subject today. 

Tip Reiman

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 271 pounds (measured at NFL Scouting Combine)

Reiman grew from a walk-on in 2020 into an offensive captain for the Fighting Illini in 2023. Primarily an in-line tight end, the South Dakota native hauled in 19 passes in each of his final two seasons at Illinois. He elevated his draft profile with a strong week at the Shrine Bowl, where the Lions met with him, and an impressive NFL Scouting Combine and pro day display.

 

What I like

  • Brings a physical presence as an inline run blocker
  • Good feet and decent leg drive on the edge as a blocker
  • Sure-handed receiver on outlet throws
  • Feisty competitor who isn’t afraid to mix it up or challenge defenders
  • Progressed nicely at engaging blocking marks at the second level and avoiding holding penalties
  • Great grip strength and hand/shoulder power for the position
  • Tested out much better than expected as an athlete
  • Physical and balanced after the catch
  • Considerable special teams experience

What worries me going into the NFL

  • Oddly short arms (32″) for his height
  • Very pedestrian mover in space; didn’t come close to playing with the athletic testing numbers he posted at the combine
  • Slow release from the line and plodding change of direction and breaks in routes
  • Can get stiff and rise up when forced to sustain blocks

Overall

Reiman is a great story in rising up from walk-on to venerated team captain at Illinois. He also proved to be a pretty good blocking tight end with reliable hands as an outlet receiver as his Illini career progressed.

An outstanding NFL Scouting Combine workout definitely attracted attention, but Reiman never displayed that sort of athleticism functionally on the football field. He lacks suddenness and quickness, playing with slow feet and average acceleration in the open field. Reiman projects as an inline-only blocking tight end with the capability of catching the outlet and red zone passes thrown his way. If you combine Lions reserves James Mitchell and Brock Wright, you’d come close to what Reiman offers in the 5th-6th round.

 

Falcons have top-30 draft visit scheduled with Illinois tight end

The #Falcons have a top-30 draft visit scheduled with Illinois tight end Tip Reiman

The Atlanta Falcons have a top-30 draft visit scheduled with Illinois tight end Tip Reiman, according to the Draft Network’s Justin Melo. Reiman finished the 2023 season with 19 catches, 203 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

While his college production was relatively modest, Reiman’s athleticism was on full display at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. The former Illinois tight end earned an elite relative athletic score (RAS) of 9.92:

Reiman is currently ranked as the 187th prospect on Pro Football Focus’ big board for the 2024 NFL draft. He lined up in the slot about one-third of the time in college.

Even after signing free agent Charlie Woerner to a three-year deal, the Falcons need some additional depth at tight end. The team released veteran Jonnu Smith ahead of free agency and could use a quality third option behind Kyle Pitts and Charlie Woerner.

In our latest mock draft of Round 1, Atlanta trades down before upgrading their defense.

These 4 players helped their chances of being drafted by Chargers at NFL Combine

Here are four players who improved their chances of being a Charger this fall.

The NFL Combine is generally regarded as the event that begins to solidify draft boards, as players rise and fall based on their testing and interview sessions during the week in Indianapolis.

Here are four players who improved their chances of being a Charger this fall.

Fiske was already on many people’s radars after a stellar performance at the Senior Bowl in February, but his draft stock had only jumped from Day 3 to…earlier Day 3. Not so after his performance in Indianapolis, as Fiske posted elite numbers in every testing event except the bench press. His 9.88 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) was just outside the top ten for any player present at the Combine.

Fiske is now ranked as the 83rd best player in the draft by Jack Lichtenstein’s consensus big board, which aggregates ranks from 20 of the internet’s most reputable draft coverage sources. That could put him well in play for the Chargers’ third-round pick at 69th overall, especially considering that new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter prefers his interior defenders to be plus athletes.

Wilson blew up the testing portion of the festivities in Indianapolis, leading the linebackers with a 4.43 40 yard dash and testing above the 70th percentile in both the vertical and broad jump. But all of that was expected, to some extent. What was more worth celebrating for Wilson was his medicals, which reportedly came back clean after a college career wrought by shoulder injuries.

If Wilson truly is a green flag on the medical front, the only thing stopping him from being a top 40 pick is the positional value of linebackers. His film is arguably the best of any prospect’s at the position this year. Ranked at #61 on Lichtenstein’s consensus big board, Wilson could slip to 69th overall, but a clean bill of health could also just as well put him in contention at 37th overall.

A Chargers Wire favorite this cycle, Reiman vindicated the staff of this website by testing as the tenth-best tight end ever, per RAS. He ran a 4.64 40-yard dash at 271 pounds and posted elite agility times for the position despite a 97th percentile weight. Reiman also drew notable crowd reactions for his work in blocking drills once the tight ends hit the field.

That last section will be key for the Chargers, who will be searching for tight ends who can bang as in-line blockers under new offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Roman’s offense, because of its run-heavy tendencies, also utilizes tight ends in the pass game fairly often. Reiman showed in Indianapolis that he has a bit more to him than draftniks have given him credit for—he’s ranked on only two of the 20 sites used to form the consensus board.

Breaking records at the Combine is generally pretty good. It’s even more notable when the record you’re breaking is Jason Kelce’s, which is exactly what Bortolini did by throwing down a 7.16 3-cone drill in Indianapolis. The rest of his testing was similarly elite, with his shuttle, jumps, and 40-yard dash all ranking at the 95th percentile or higher.

Bortolini isn’t an exceedingly powerful player—his 21 reps on the bench were around the 25th percentile for centers—which may cloud his fit with the Chargers. But Los Angeles needs a center, and Bortolini’s added versatility at guard could prove useful as a swing lineman early in his career while new strength coach Ben Herbert adds power to his frame. Ranked 176th on the consensus board, Bortolini is a name to watch closely on Day 3.

Panthers 2024 mock draft 4.0: Post-combine edition

How did this year’s edition of the underwear olympics affect our latest mock draft for the Panthers?

So, how’s the landscape looking after this year’s underwear olympics?

With the 2024 combine now in the books, here’s our latest mock draft for the Carolina Panthers:

Gavino’s Guys: 2024 NFL draft ‘crushes’ the Chargers might love

Celebrating Valentine’s Day with 2024 NFL draft crushes the Los Angeles Chargers might love.

Valentine’s Day is here, and love is in the air.

Some of you are celebrating the day with your significant other, but some are without a Valentine, like me. So today, I’d like to reveal who I have a crush on.

I’m talking about some NFL draft prospects whose tape I enjoyed watching, and that would make sense for the Chargers when they’re on the clock in April.

With that, let’s see who’s drawn my attention.

Offensive standouts for Chargers from East-West Shrine Bowl: Day 2

Here’s who stood out on the offensive side of the ball on the second day.

The East-West Shrine Bowl continued Sunday in Frisco, TX with the second practice session leading up to Thursday’s game.

Here are five players who made a positive impression on the assorted scouts and media, including five Chargers personnel staffers, in attendance.