Wisconsin Edge Rusher Mason Reiger Goes Undrafted, Lands With Miami Dolphins

Former Wisconsin edge rusher Mason Reiger was surprisingly not selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, marking the first time since 1978 that the Badgers didn’t have a single player taken. However, following the draft, Reiger was quickly scooped by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent, accorinng to Jordan Schultz.

In his first and only season with Wisconsin, Reiger had a huge impact on the defense. As a senior, Reiger posted 33.0 tackles, 6.0 for loss, and a team-high 5.0 sacks. This came after Reiger missed the entire 2024 season with Louisville due to injury.

The stats only tell part of the story with Reiger. Posting a Pro Football Focus grade of 82.4, Reiger racked up 32 quarterback hurries, leading to a whopping 45 pressures. Among edge rushers with at least 400 snaps last season, Reiger had the 28th highest grade in college football.

Reiger also completely turned around UW’s pressure numbers upon his arrival. In 2024, the Badgers were dead last in tackles for loss per game (3.5) and No. 120 out of 130 FBS teams in sacks per game (1.3). With Reiger in the lineup, UW ranked No. 16 in the country in sack percentage (8.27%) and No. 23 in sacks per game (2.3).

Unranked coming out of high school, Reiger walked on at Louisville. Appearing in nine games and recording a pair of sacks as a redshirt freshman in 2021, Reiger was put on scholarship the following season. In 2022, Reiger would play all 13 games at defensive end for the Cardinals, tallying 7.0 tackles for loss. Next season, Reiger broke out. In 10 contests, Reiger finished with 22.0 tackles and 5.0 sacks, including 4.0 tackles and 2.0 sacks in a win over top-10 ranked Notre Dame, going toe-to-toe with eventual first-round pick Joe Alt, now with the Los Angeles Chargers. Reiger also notched 5.0 tackles against Florida State in the ACC Championship Game.

At the NFL combine, Reiger measured in at 6-foot-5 and 251 pounds. He ran a 4.78 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 40-inch vertical, and a 10’5″ broad jump.

“The production came in stages,” NFL Draft Buzz wrote. “As a redshirt freshman in 2021, Reiger logged nine tackles and two sacks across nine games, flashing enough juice off the edge to earn more snaps. His redshirt sophomore year in 2022 saw him play all 13 games with 18 tackles and 7.0 TFLs, though the sack numbers dipped to just one. The breakout arrived in 2023: 22 tackles, 5.0 sacks, and 6.0 TFLs in 10 games, including a monster performance against Notre Dame where he racked up four tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in a top-ten upset. He added another sack against Virginia Tech and was productive in road wins at Miami and in the ACC Championship against Florida State. Then came the setback. A leg injury requiring surgery wiped out his entire 2024 redshirt senior season at Louisville, and for a former walk-on with no safety net, the road could have ended right there.

“It didn’t. Reiger entered the transfer portal and landed at Wisconsin as a graduate transfer, reuniting with a coaching staff that believed in his tape even without recent game film. He played all 12 games in 2025, starting 11 at outside linebacker, and delivered 33 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 6.0 TFLs, and 45 total pressures against a Big Ten schedule. He picked up All-Big Ten Honorable Mention from the media and then went to the East-West Shrine Bowl and absolutely torched the competition, winning Defensive MVP with three sacks. That performance turned heads across the league and put his name on draft boards that had previously overlooked him. Reiger graduated from Louisville with a degree in sports administration before his Wisconsin chapter, a detail that speaks to the kind of person evaluators will meet in interviews.”

Reiger wasn’t the only former UW player signed after the draft. Offensive tackle Riley Mahlman and wide receiver Vinny Anthony both landed with the Atlanta Falcons. Safety Austin Brown signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Edge rusher Darryl Peterson is headed to the Los Angeles Rams.

Tight End Jackson Acker (Buffalo Bills), tight end Lance Mason (Seattle Seahawks), and defensive lineman Ben Barten (New York Giants) were all picked up later on in the evening as well.

Wide receiver Jayden Ballard has received mini camp invites from the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts, per his agent.