2022 NFL Draft: Iowa Hawkeyes’ Tyler Linderbaum the top center?

Where can Tyler Linderbaum Improve?

The biggest improvements Linderbaum can make before the 2022 NFL Draft come down to two major things. The first is his balance. There are times where he gets over-aggressive and leans too far forward. This causes him to lose balance, and more importantly, lose leverage, allowing more tactical interior rushers to get by him. He needs to stay more composed and in a good stance more consistently at the point of attack.

Linderbaum can also be more effective with his hand usage. His raw power and wrestling background help him a lot in pass protection and on power runs, but better hand placement (keeping them in tight) will help him with leverage, resetting the line of scrimmage, and displacing defenders more often.

2022 NFL Draft Outlook

After all this, is Tyler Linderbaum the top center in the 2022 NFL Draft? Right now, I’d say the answer is yes. His combination of athleticism, quicks, explosion, and toughness will excite many NFL teams as they make their way out to see the Hawkeyes play this season. He’s going to fit in both power and zone schemes, and he does a great job with runs to the perimeter.

Obviously, as stated above, improvements can be made. If anyone can do that, Linderbaum can, not only because of the rapid improvement so far in college, but also because of the great reputation the coaching staff at Iowa has of molding great talent.

There are teams that will likely have a need at center in the 2022 NFL Draft, and it’s very possible that Linderbaum becomes the next first round pick at the position and the first since Ruiz. Another year of excellent football from his part will get him there.