Not “Thee” Tight End in the 2024 NFL Draft

Tip Reiman is a tough and hard working tight end prospect

The New York Jets would be wise to draft a tight end in the 2024 NFL draft, but it might not be the one you have been hearing about. The talk of Brock Bowers as a first round pick gives me shivers, since the Jets have serious needs in many spots and the Jets can find a better prospect later in the draft.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Bowers is a fine player, but he really isn’t a tight end in the traditional sense. He is more of a move tight end. He’s a big receiver who gives you little blocking in the run game. Bowers is fast. He ran 4.53/40 at his pro day at 243 lbs, which is good. Of course, a pro day isn’t like the electronic timing at the NFL combine. They tend to be a little charitable with the timing on your home turf. Some of the scouts present might not have had such a generous timing.

I’m talking about a guy in the mold of a Rob Gronkowski – big, fast, strong as an ox, with a team first mantra. Someone who is under the radar who can become a focal point of the offense not only with what he does catching the ball but also blocking. When you have a talent like a Breece Hall on your team it’s nice to have an extra offensive lineman type who can also make hay in the passing game.

The player I’m talking about is Tip Reiman from Illinois. Let me tell you his story.

Reiman is from Rapid City, South Dakota, where he played as an outside linebacker and an Edge player his first three years of high school. South Dakota is not a real hotbed for college football players. Reiman received numerous recruitment letters, including South Dakota and South Dakota State. In his senior year he switched to tight end. He did well, but the colleges rescinded their scholarship offers. He had nowhere to go.

Reiman sent his film and numbers to hundreds of coaches, but he got little to nothing back. He told his grandfather about his plight. His grandfather told Reiman he may have an option for him. His grandfather was a real estate agent with a client named Rod Smith, who was the former offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois. Smith liked what he saw on tape and was able to get Reiman a preferred walk-on spot with Illinois.

Reiman used his walk on status as motivation. “I definitely felt that I had to work harder as a walk-on. I still feel that. I still feel like a walk-on. I still feel like there’s always that chip. There’s always a chip on my shoulder. There’s always extra things to prove.”

“It’s good that I remember what it was like to be a walk-on and having to absolutely scratch and claw to get any sort of rep and having to make the most of everything. That’s something that I remind myself of now because it’s easy to get complacent.”

Reiman is a spiritual man who is married to a very supportive wife. The Reimans joined Illinois life coach Jason Epperson and a small group of Illinois student athletes on a mission trip to Nairobi, Kenya, during the summer. They spent time interacting with, giving back to, and integrating themselves with the local community during their week long experience.

As a player Reiman is an impressive physical specimen, with power and excellent hands. He’s one of those tough, hard working guys who do a lot of great blocking, then catch a pass every now and then. Yet Reiman is more. He is a former walk on player who worked hard to get where he is. His teammates rewarded him by electing him as a team captain.

“If I find myself even coming close to getting complacent, I’ll just remind myself of the amount of extra things and how hard I worked before. That work ethic has not changed. It’s only deepened because of the greater opportunities at the end” Reiman said.

Reiman is the kind of underdog player that is easy to root for, but he also has skills. In 2023 he caught 19 of 24 targets with zero drops for 203 yards and three touchdowns, while also providing excellent blocking like an additional offensive tackle. He wipes out defensive ends and he crushes his man on double teams. He is big and strong with a wide base to dominate most defensive ends, as he is bigger than most. He played in the slot a lot. He can handle most defensive ends from there, but he can also slip out into the flat on delayed patterns.

Reiman is more athletic than you might think, and he’s a load to take down. He is a huge target. He also can sit down against zone coverage and find open spaces. He has the speed and size to run the seam against fast linebackers and win. He is a total team player who wants to do anything to help his team win. He has tremendous character and will never be outworked by anyone else on the team. He is solid in pass protection and run blocking. He will even make a wham block to knock someone for a loop, or catch a 12 yard pass for a first down – it’s all the same to him. He has experience as he has 28 career starts in 45 career games. He has a huge body that can easily box out defenders to secure his catches.

Reiman has a body that resembles Rob Gronkowski. He is about an inch shorter, but he outweighs Gronk by about 6 lbs. At 271 lbs he ran a 4.64/40, with a great 1.55 ten yard split, and it shows up on tape. He has tremendous upper body strength, benching 28 reps at 225lbs at the NFL combine, with 33” arms. His RAS score was 9.92 out of 10.0.

Let’s check out some clips.

What you are going to see is a two way player as a receiver but also a solid blocker.

What you see here is much like what you will see in all his clips – a player who can cross the formation or run a delayed drag route, make the catch, then pick up some nice yardage. He is like nearly all big tight ends in that he is a load to take down, but he has little elusiveness. Once he gets all that momentum rolling in one direction it’s tough to spin or make a jump cut. You also see him come from the slot, then take a defensive end and put him on his back in the running game. He does a nice job blocking, but he will also get better as he gets some NFL coaching. His hand placement can get better as well as his footwork, but those are just technical refinements to his technique that are needed.

These next clips show what happens when you are a good blocker.

First you have Reiman motioning out, then picking up a blitzing outside linebacker, allowing a quarterback keeper to gain 10 yards. Blocking an agile playmaker in space is no easy task, but Reiman does a solid job of it. Next, he closes out a defensive end on the pass rush, allowing him zero movement into the backfield and giving his quarterback plenty of time for the downfield throw. Lastly, when you stone a player at the line they try to avoid you, which allows Reiman a free release into the end zone for an easy touchdown catch.

These next three clips come against Penn State. All result in first downs.

The first clip Reiman takes defensive end Adisa Isaac (6’ 4” 250 lbs) for a ride into the backfield as the run is to the right. Reiman caves the entire side of the line in for a nice first down. The second clip Reiman is split out wide on a third and three play. He makes a nice catch on a ball well behind him to secure the first down. On the last clip Reiman is split out wide again, running a whip route, which again secures the first down.

The next three plays show some of Reiman’s versatility.

In the first clip (it’s hard to see) Reiman runs an out and up and is wide open down the sideline, only to have the ball thrown late, which keeps him from scoring a long touchdown. In the second clip he is lined up in the slot and makes a crushing block at the point of attack that opens a gaping hole for an easy walk-in touchdown, as the running back barely gets touched on a goal line run. In the third clip Reiman is lined up in the slot to the right, then crosses the formation at the snap to make a great wham block that opens the hole for a big gain by the running back.

The next set of three clips are all receptions by Reiman. All result in first downs.

The first clip is a nice little toss in the flat after Reiman crosses the formation wide open. This happens because on running plays he is used on kick out blocks, so no one wants to step in the way. The second clip is a little stop route over the middle for a first down, and the last is another stop route for a first down on fourth and four.

The last two clips are simple short patterns run from an inline and boundary position for a first down and a two-point conversion.

Reiman was tragically underused by the Illinois offense. He was capable of much more, but he was asked to run a rudimentary route tree with underwhelming results. A passing offense using him running the seam along with some deeper sideline patterns would be beneficial to the team. Reiman will never be a Tony Gonzalez, but he can supply great blocking while adding 50-75 catches a year in a competent offense.

He is going to be a solid locker room guy because he will be respected for his work ethic, and he’ll do whatever it takes to win. He doesn’t mind doing the dirty work and he’s very good at it.

I researched Reiman and watched a ton of tape and he’s one of my favorite players in this draft. He’s a solid all-around player, a team first guy with a stable home life and great character. What’s not to like? The fact you can probably get him in the fourth round is even better.

If Reiman develops he could be a draft day steal and a fan favorite.

Let me know what you think.