Bonus Edition: Tyler Linderbaum - Wanted

Special edition: What makes Linderbaum so appealing?

🗽I had absolutely no intention of sending another newsletter over the weekend, but then I was thinking about Tyler Linderbaum. I was thinking of the early love affair between the Iowa center and the Jets online community, and well, I thought what the hell, let's take a look at the big man, and if i’m interested, maybe some others are as well.

Defensive Line

Many people don’t realise that college football’s best center actually wasn’t recruited as a center at all. Linderbaum was actually a highly regarded defensive tackle, a 4* prospect that was renowned as a high motor lineman, but on the defensive side of the ball.

When he represented Iowa at the 2018 U.S. Army All American Game, he did so as a defensive tackle. He was also the first player from from his school to suit up in the prestigious game.

Having grown up just 15 minutes away from the Hawks campus, you could say that his decision to enrol at Iowa was no surprise, but Tyler didn’t want to rush the decision. He didn't want to be one of these college athletes that commit early, only to backtrack months later.

Iowa State were actually the first school to offer, followed by Minnesota and finally Iowa. And while Linderbaum took unofficial visits to both schools, as soon as Iowa offered, it was really just a one horse race.

“I grew up watching the Hawks. It was hard to pass them up. The coaches, the fan base, everything about it - that's why I chose them. I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else” Linderbaum told USA Today after committing.

Although recruited as a defensive tackle, he was always a 2 way player for Solon High. But being a 2-way high school footballer wasn’t enough. He was part of the high school wrestling team, which is always a good sign for an offensive lineman. Wrestling teaches leverage, footwork and using your strength and quickness to your advantage. He threw for the track and field team in the spring and played first and third base and pitched for his schools baseball team, and turned out for the Solon golf team too, its safe to say that he was a true high school athlete.

Iowa don’t have an NFL team, so Tyler grew up a fan of the Green Bay Packers, just over the border in Wisconsin. His favourite player growing up was Mike Daniels, a 310lb defensive tackle from Blackwood New Jersey who attended Iowa before being drafted by the Packers in the 4th round of the 2012 NFL draft.

Although the scouting services largely pegged Linderbaum as a defensive lineman, Solon head coach Kevin Miller wasn’t so sure, and looking back now as we talk about him as the best center in all of college football, Millers comments show outstanding intuition:

“I don’t know where he'll play at Iowa, whether that’s on the defensive line or on the offensive line. He kind of is your prototype center because he's athletic and he’s really smart and understands the game. But he’s also powerful enough to play defensive line. He uses such quick moves; he uses his hands well, plays with great leverage and plays with great technique”.

Iowa

After arriving on the Iowa campus in 2018, Linderbaum would appear in two games at defensive tackle as a true freshman. But it was leading up to the 2018 Outback Bowl where a decision by coach Kirk Ferentz would change Tyler’s trajectory.

Iowa was about to lose starting center Keegan Render who went on to spend time with the Eagles in the NFL. Ferentz became concerned that the Hawks didn’t have Renders replacement in the offensive meeting room, so instead, he looked to Tyler, a talented player who had yet to really take off on the defensive side of the ball.

Ferentz later spoke to the Athletic around the decision to try Tyler at the center position:

“He's a football player that’s got a great love for the game and a great love for his teammates and was a great leader in high school and certainly has been a good leader here. The point there is the leadership qualities that he possessed and just his motor, just his desire that he played with on play-in and play-out, those are good desirable traits for a guy who is in the middle on the offensive line”

By the time spring practice wrapped up in 2019, Linderbaum was named the program’s first freshman starting center since 2006. He ended the 2019 season as a Freshman All-American. He really hasn’t looked back since and his high school coach Kevin Miller is hardly surprised:

“He’s quick, he’s athletic. He’s just an exceptional athlete that has great balance and coordination. It’s the other things that really separate him. Just his work ethic, the way he prepares. I've coached a lot of great players, but the thing that really stands out about Tyler is his ability to play so hard all the time, whether that’s practice or a game. He just gives maximum effort on a consistent basis”

Following the 2020 college football season, PFF ranked Linderbaum as the 12th best player in college football. He finished the year as the highest-graded center at 91.5. That’s the highest mark given since Frank Ragnow back in 2016.

According to PFF, Linderbaum allowed just 3 QB pressures on 280 pass-blocking snaps in 2020. He’s strong, he’s fast, he's smart and he’s technically one of the best offensive linemen I’ve ever seen.

Iowa is renowned for producing outstanding offensive linemen. If you need to look further than Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tristan Wirfs who was a first-round pick in 2019, you can look at Brandon Scherff who’s consistently been one of the best guards in the NFL over recent years.

Heading into the 2021 season Tyler was added to basically every pre-season All-American and he’s hit favorite to take home the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the player deemed to be the best center in college football, named after Dave Rimington who played center for Nebraska between 1979 and 1982.

Langdon Dickerson of Alabam won it over Tyler in 2020, which for me was a complete oversight, but then that’s college football awards for you. Tyler was the best lineman in college football last season, not the best center, but best lineman period.

Most agree that he could have gone pro after the 2020 season, but when his parents Todd and Lisa broached the subject in the off-season it was quickly squashed with three simple words to show a self-awareness that is unique for a player of Tyker’s age:

“I’m not Ready”

And with those three tiny words, the subject was put to bed. Of course there is a chance that Tyler opts to return to Iowa for his senior season in 2022, but with a potential top 10 selection just a stone’s throw away, maybe he decides that he's ready for a new challenge, the ultimate challenge, the challenge of the NFL.

People often say to me that you can't take an interior offensive lineman in the top 10. It's too early, it’s not a premium position, it’s a waste. I’ve heard it repeatedly and I disagree with it vehemently.

The NFL evolves, evaluation evolves, the draft evolves. It wasn't too long ago that most teams considered using a top 5 pick on a running back to be sound strategy. That was the way it was, it was a premium position. A lot of teams would hesitate to use a first-round pick on a RB now, let alone a top 5 pick.

The NFL center is one of the key positions in football. It sets the tone for your line. The line protects your QB and makes space for your running game. The center in the Jets system sets the protection.

Iowa’s offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz said it best when he said:

“On the offensive line, everything is going to start with the center position. That guy is going to be your tone-setter, going to be your tempo setter, and he’s going to be your bell cow. Talking about getting guys in and out of the huddle, nobody can get to the ball faster than the center. He sets that tempo right from the start and when you’re talking about Tyler, yes, being athletic, strong, has all those measurable you're looking for”.

So far in 2021, Linderbaum has picked up right where he left off. As of today he has a 94.0 grade according to PFF, even better than his 2020 mark. Earlier this season against the #4 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, Linderbaum dropped back to pass protect 37 times, he didn’t allow a sack and he didn't allow a single pressure.

Connor McGovern has had a nice bounce-back season, but he’s not an elite center, he never has been and never will be. Linderbaum represents the opportunity to finally replace Nick Mangold properly. Let Zach Wilson (or Mike White 😉) grow with their center. If you can find someone who you think will be elite at a position for the next decade, you do all you can to get that guy in your franchise.

I know what you're probably thinking. Enough with the chit-chat, show us some damn film on this man. We’ll let’s get into it.

Linderbaum’s movement skills are absolutely elite. Not only does he come off the ball with real fire, but he easily navigates to the next level, identifies his target and locks on. There are dozens of examples of this on film, but I love the one above because of the pop he shows when meeting the linebacker at the next level. Speed, awareness and strength, all on show in one tiny 3-second clip.

Here’s a little clip of Linderbaum in pass-protection. Here the NT is playing 0-technique, so head up on Tyler. Looking at two main things here. One, his base is absolutely rock solid, it’s textbook technique for a center, and two, the vice grip that he puts on the tackle that has him flopping around like a fish in a fishing net. At one point the RG looks as though he’s going to help, and then realizes it’s just not necessary.

Here’s another pass-protection snap that shows the same thing. Hammering home the base and the technique he plays with. It reminded me of something Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome once said about the importance of the center position, especially with so many teams moving to a 3-4:

"You need to have somebody who can neutralize that nose-tackle. If you don't, everything can get screwed up. Your running game won't be effective and you'll also have somebody in your quarterback's face on every play”

Going back to his run-blocking and the smart way he plays the game, here he sells the pass on a designed QB run and then explodes out and seals the lane allowing his QB the route into the end-zone. 290lb lineman aren’t supposed to be able to move as quickly or as smoothly as Tyler does:

I could show you a ton of examples of all the key things you look for in a center in terms of their physical tools:

• Strength

• Smooth Movement

• Solid Technique

• Quickness

He can pull to the left, and to the right. He can block from his base or block on the move. He’s as proficient in the run game as he is in the passing game, and if you talk to any teammate, he’s one of the smartest and most liked players on the team.

Of course it’s a litte harder to show you tape of their mental capability and their communication skills, as it’s often something that is felt through the team, but not picked up on in gametape.

Instead I’ll leave you with another play that I just absolutely love that showcases a bit of everything. A bit of quickness, a smoothness in the movement, a good technique and plenty of strength too.

When we really get into draft season, I’ll be posting a lot more articles just like this. So if you liked it, please do make sure you subscribe and share with you followers.