2022 NFL Draft prospect profile – Tyler Linderbaum, OC, Iowa

Iowa middle Tyler Linderbaum has had a comparatively unconventional path to the NFL draft.

He was initially recruited to Iowa as a defensive deal with, the place he was his highschool district’s defensive MVP. Nevertheless, Iowa’s teaching employees transformed him to the offensive line in 2019.

Linderbaum has since thrived on the middle place and is broadly thought of the highest middle within the 2022 NFL Draft. The athleticism and play power that made him a harmful defensive deal with definitely assist, as does his background as one of many prime highschool wrestlers within the state of Iowa. In actual fact, Linderbaum has a win over fellow Iowa alum — and 2020 first spherical OT — Tristan Wirfs.

The New York Giants have struggled to get the middle place proper since parting methods with Weston Richburg within the 2018 off season. May Linderbaum be the reply the Giants have been searching for?

Prospect: Tyler Linderbaum (65)
Video games Watched: vs. Indiana (2021), vs. Penn State (2021), vs. Purdue (2021), vs. Michigan (2021)

Measurables

Profession Video games Performed: 36
2021 Video games Performed: 14

Fast Abstract

Greatest: Athleticism, play power, aggressive toughness, psychological processing, versatility
Worst: Expertise, dimension
Projection: A beginning middle with scheme variety.

Sport Tape

Full Report

Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum is an athletic, instinctive, and hard middle prospect.

Linderbaum is a compact, highly effective lineman with good decrease physique flexibility. He is ready to settle into his stance with low hips and good pad degree to maximise his play power. Linderbaum has a robust wrestling background giving him an instinctive understanding of angles and leverage, in addition to a pure sense of steadiness. He persistently fires off the ball, simply getting underneath the pads of opposing linemen. Linderbaum has heavy palms, permitting him to jolt defenders with a tough strike earlier than uncoiling his hips and driving them backwards.

Linderbaum has expertise in each man-gap and zone blocking schemes in Iowa’s various operating sport and executes each at a excessive degree. He is a superb and fluid athlete, which permits him to work off of double groups and simply climb to the second degree. He additionally does an excellent job of staying in section in outdoors zone runs, simply getting defenders in his zone to movement laterally.

He’s a stable technician, taking part in with a large base and becoming his palms effectively within defenders’ framework. Linderbaum can be a tremendously powerful blocker, working to maintain his blocks by way of the echo of the whistle and ceaselessly making an attempt to drive defenders to the bottom.

Linderbaum exhibits a stable understanding of his offense’s blocking schemes. He executes his position effectively throughout the scheme, even when the kind of block varies broadly from play to play. Linderbaum additionally exhibits an nearly instinctual degree of subject consciousness. He anticipates rushers very effectively, often choosing them up with out transferring his head off of his major duty and is able to blocking a number of defenders on a single play.

For all of the positives to Linderbaum’s sport, he nonetheless solely has three years on the place. His relative lack of expertise at middle rears its head at instances on his tape. Specifically, Linderbaum can often miss late twists or blitzes. He can even enable his approach to interrupt down on longer performs. Linderbuam often permits his stance to slim and knees to straighten late in lengthy performs, which may give the benefit to defensive tackles who preserve their leverage.

Linderbaum can be undersized for the place at 6-foot-2, 296 kilos with 31-inch arms. Whereas this doesn’t look like a lot of a problem on tape, groups with strict adherence to measurable thresholds might transfer him down their draft boards due to these numbers.

General Grade: 8.4

Projection

Iowa middle Tyler Linderbaum tasks as a beginning middle with scheme variety on the NFL degree.

As a sensible matter, there isn’t a blocking scheme within the trendy NFL that Linderbaum can’t execute, and he can most likely execute any at a excessive degree. He’s remarkably athletic, highly effective, and agile. Linderbaum has nice play power and a pure understanding of the right way to make use of his pure leverage.

Some groups could battle to get previous the truth that Linderbaum is undeniably undersized. Nevertheless, his athleticism, explosive energy, and pure leverage largely render these considerations moot on tape. Linderbaum’s leverage and energy enable him to carry up effectively in conditions the place he’s head-up on a real nostril deal with, whereas his athleticism and power make attain or slide blocks seem simple.

Linderbaum began his profession at Iowa as a defensive deal with and that often exhibits up in his sport, significantly in man-gap runs. Linderbaum tends to fireside out of his stance low and arduous, like a DT attacking a spot. That may get him out over his skis if his strike doesn’t land, but it surely additionally permits him to drive defenders yards off the ball.

Linderbaum’s inexperience as a complete is one thing of a double-edged sword. It might show to be a little bit of a legal responsibility as he makes the soar to seeing NFL caliber athletes and schemes on a weekly foundation as a rookie. Nevertheless, if he continues to develop on the price he has during the last three years, that could possibly be extremely thrilling. Specifically, Linderbaum’s subject consciousness is just uncommon. Not solely does he have an amazing sense for locating work as a blocker, there are situations the place he is ready to anticipate and choose up blitzers in a blink with out even turning his head of their course.

All in all, Tyler Linderbaum seems to be a “developmental” participant who enters the NFL with a excessive flooring but in addition has a sky-high ceiling.