Auburn's Rivaldo Fairweather Using Combine Snub as Fuel Ahead of NFL Draft

One would have thought that former Auburn Tigers tight end Rivaldo Fairweather would have done enough to garner an invite to the NFL Combine.

After all, the big tight end performed pretty well during the East-West Shrine Bowl practice sessions held last month in North Texas after setting records on the Plains.

Fairweather tied the Auburn record for career catches by a tight end with 68 after setting the Auburn season tight end record with 38 receptions in 2023.

The former transfer from Florida International will have to hope that NFL scouts will take him on his word that Fairweather is actively making the improvements required as a blocker in order to crack a pro career somewhere.

"The key to being a great blocker is just having better technique and better hand placement," Fairweather said of his improvement process, via Andrew Mason. "You've gotta want to do it. You've gotta love it. ... A lot of guys don't love it, especially receivers and stuff like that. They may not do the dirty work. But I take pride in stuff like that."

Notably, the 6-foot-4 and 252 pound Fairweather saw some snaps at the fullback position during Shrine practices, and hopefully his willingness to multi-task some will filter through during the draft process.

As far as his overall draft evaluation goes, perhaps it's Fairweathers's willingness to get down and dirty in the blocking game which will resonate beyond the game tape.

Of course blocking skills aren't his core strength, but Fairweather's prodigious wingspan of 83 1/8-inches gives him a real advantage in terms of his big catch radius.

NFL teams are always intrigued by guys who can make contested catches in traffic, but Fairweather also feels he is dynamic enough to break some tackles and be effective when running in the open field.

"What I do well is make plays vertically down the field," Fairweather told Mason. "I'm not scared to go up and grab a catch across the middle. My YAC ability. I'm really good at breaking tackles and making people miss and scoring touchdowns."

Tight end needy NFL teams like the Denver Broncos might find themselves drawn towards the athletic Fairweather; he's certainly got real upside that could be developed further over time.

Had Fairweather made it to the NFL Combine, the chances are high that he would have turned some heads with his condor-like wingspan and quietly spoken air of real confidence. He’ll get his chance to test in front of scouts at Auburn’s Pro Day next month.

Undoubtedly, the Auburn program's repeated struggles to post winning seasons is certainly reflected by the fairly lukewarm pre-draft reactions to the likes of Fairweather.

So now, the onus is very much on Fairweather to change the unfortunate negative narrative, and make NFL teams look beyond the combine snub.