Leander Wiegand
{{Short description|American football player (born 1999)}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Leander Wiegand
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_team = New York Jets
| number = 64
| position = Offensive lineman
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|8|24}}
| birth_place = Henstedt-Ulzburg, Germany
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 302
| high_school =
| college = UCF (2021)
| undraftedyear = 2025
| pastteams =
- Aachen Vampires (2018–2019)
- Cologne Centurions (2022)
- Rhein Fire (2023)
- Munich Ravens (2024)
- New York Jets ({{NFL Year|2025}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
| statseason =
| statweek =
| statlabel1 =
| statvalue1 =
| statlabel2 =
| statvalue2 =
| pfr =
}}
Leander Wiegand (born August 24, 1999) is a German professional American football offensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the European League of Football (ELF) for the Cologne Centurions, Rhein Fire and Munich Ravens. He joined the NFL through the league's International Player Pathway (IPP) program in 2025.
Early life
Wiegand was born on August 24, 1999, in Henstedt-Ulzburg, Germany. He grew up playing soccer and handball.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/germany/sachsische-zeitung-kamenz/20250424/282136412267934?srsltid=AfmBOoo8w9zLRu7d5JH9TKR6n5rU9c3kbjs-deoxj7cjTS4O9-T2bTVa|publisher=RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland|via=PressReader.com|title=Vom Bau in die NFL?|trans-title=From Construction to the NFL?|author=Harfst, Sebastian|date=April 24, 2025}} He later became interested in American football and joined the local Aachen Vampires in 2018, at age 19, playing for them until 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://football-austria.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ravens.pdf|website=football-austria.com|publisher=Munich Ravens|title=Players to watch|pages=3–4|date=June 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/news.pl?artikel=1644314107802813|website=football-aktuell.de|language=German|title=Centurions verpflichten Leander Wiegand|trans-title=Centurions sign Leander Wiegand|date=February 8, 2022}} An offensive lineman, he was noticed at a football camp run by Björn Werner in 2019 and was invited to the Gridiron Import Tour in 2020, though it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wiegand was later trained by former NFL player Chris Mohr and was offered an athletic scholarship to play college football in the U.S. for the UCF Knights, committing to play for them in November 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://247sports.com/Article/leander-wiegand-ucf-football-lands-commitment-from-german-ol-155085889/|website=247Sports|title=UCF football lands commitment from German OL|author=Beede, Jason|date=November 20, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://europeanleague.football/news/draft-special-how-marcel-dabo-or-leander-wiegand-are-trained-by-former-nfl-pro-chris-mohr-158|publisher=European League of Football|title=Draft Special: How Marcel Dabo or Leander Wiegand are trained by former NFL pro Chris Mohr|date=April 28, 2022|author=Hahn, Chris}} According to Mohr, Wiegand became the first German to receive a scholarship for an NCAA Division I team "without the college ever seeing him play before. It was purely about his athletic ability". He flew to the U.S. in 2021 to play for the Knights, but after a few months, left the school and returned to Germany for personal reasons.{{Cite news|url=https://archive.today/20250428210210/https://www.kicker.de/viel-magerquark-und-eine-mission-das-ist-die-deutsche-nfl-hoffnung-leander-wiegand-1075474/artikel|newspaper=Kicker|language=German|via=archive.today|title=Leander Wiegand: Das ist die deutsche NFL-Hoffnung|date=December 20, 2024|trans-title=Leander Wiegand: This is the German NFL hopeful}}
Professional career
In 2022, Wiegand signed with the Cologne Centurions of the European League of Football (ELF).{{Cite web|url=https://europeanleague.football/news/elf-to-nfl-leander-wiegand-signs-with-the-ny-jets-3173|publisher=European League of Football|title=From ELF to NFL! Leander Wiegand signs with NY Jets|author=Malchow, Alex|date=April 27, 2025}} After the 2022 season, he was invited to the NFL's International Combine, telling Kicker that "they told me at the time that I had perhaps the best workout of all the players". However, despite his performance there, he was not selected for the league's International Player Pathway (IPP) program. He later performed at the Canadian Football League's pro day in 2023, but was limited after contracting a virus. He returned to the ELF for the 2023 season, joining the Rhein Fire. He was named first-team All-ELF and helped the Fire win the league championship. He then played for the Munich Ravens in 2024 and was coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas. He was named second-team All-ELF for the 2024 season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rtl.de/sport/nfl/leander-wiegand-deutsches-football-talent-schafft-sprung-in-die-nfl-id4321318.html|publisher=RTL|language=German|title=Deutsches Football-Talent schafft Sprung in die NFL|trans-title=German football talent makes the leap into the NFL|date=27 April 2025}}
In December 2024, Wiegand was selected for the NFL's International Player Pathway, training with other participants at IMG Academy in Florida.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/american-football/articles/c786wqwdy64o|publisher=BBC|title=Petaia, Stona & Sexton named in NFL's 2025 IPP class|author=Collins, Ben|date=9 December 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://europeanleague.football/news/elf-stars-maceo-beard-and-leander-wiegand-chasing-nfl-ipp-dream-2981|publisher=European League of Football|title=ELF Stars Maceo Beard and Leander Wiegand chasing NFL IPP dream|date=February 26, 2025|author=Malchow, Alex}} At his pro day, he recorded 38 bench press repetitions, five more than anyone who had participated at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. After going unselected in the 2025 NFL draft, Wiegand signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent.{{Cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/article/jets-pay-big-bucks-cleverly-134600313.html|website=Athlon Sports|via=Yahoo Sports|title=Jets Pay Big Bucks to Cleverly Sign German Behemoth|date=1 May 2025|author=Simile, Joe}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.newyorkjets.com/team/players-roster/leander-wiegand/ New York Jets bio]
{{New York Jets roster navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegand, Leander}}
Category:People from Henstedt-Ulzburg
Category:German players of American football
Category:American football offensive linemen
Category:UCF Knights football players
Category:Cologne Centurions (ELF) players
Category:Rhein Fire (ELF) players