NFL Draft 2026 Scouting Report for UCLA OT Reuben Unije

Brandon ThornDec 18, 2025

Reuben Unije is a long, smooth mover to his spot who understands how to maximize his length to establish first meaningful contact, clench, and end reps quickly once latched. Mediocre foot quickness and recovery skills sap his ability to sustain late in the rep if he can't win early, but there is enough size and pass protection skill to compete for a backup role.

Unije is a 6'6", 315-pound tackle prospect who entered the Illinois program as a 3-star recruit in the 2018 class out of IMG Academy before leaving the team for 'personal reasons' and enrolling in Coahoma Community College in 2019. Unije would go on to transfer to Houston (2020-2023), Louisville (2024), and UCLA (2024-2025).

The journeyman recruit started 33 career games at left (10) and right (23) tackle. He suffered a season-ending injury after four starts during the 2024 season.

Brandon Thorn: Brandon is the author of the Trench Warfare newsletter, which focuses exclusively on offensive and defensive line evaluation. He also contributes as an analyst to Establish the Run, serves as the scouting coordinator for OL Masterminds and is a selection committee member for the Joe Moore Award.

Highlights

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Where He Wins

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— Excellent length with good strike timing and placement to weaponize it and establish first meaningful contact.

— Smooth footwork to his spot in pass protection to arrive at the junction point square and under control.

— Good grip strength once latched with an aggressive mindset to 'turn the wheel', torque and use the defender's momentum against themselves.

— Throws his hips back in his anchor to brace and reduce the shock of a bull-rush with the rusher at his fingertips.

Areas of Improvement

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— Narrow margin for error and soft edges against rushers that can change levels mid-rush and string moves together.

— Will bite when being set up in pass protection, swinging open against high-to-low side counter moves and striking down the middle against low-to-high side counters.

— Erratic ability to intersect smaller targets on the move in the run game due to choppy feet, leaning into contact and chasing instead of bringing his feet.