NFL Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah Believes Tyler Linderbaum Could Fall to Bengals at No. 31

Cincinnati desperately needs to upgrade their O-Line this offseason.

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Feb 28, 2022 11:40 AM EST

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are expected to aggressively address their offensive line this offseason, which will likely include spending money in free agency and using draft capital in hopes of protecting Joe Burrow much better in 2022.

There's been plenty of discussion about Cincinnati upgrading at the center spot this offseason.

Most point to free agency, but if they're going to address it in the draft, then Iowa's Tyler Linderbaum is considered the top center in this class. The Bengals have the 31st overall pick. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes he could fall to Cincinnati in the 2022 NFL Draft.

"While I think he's a fantastic player, it's hard to slot him in. To say there's no way, he's too good, he wouldn't slide down to where the Bengals are picking, I don't think we can all say that's a lock. He's one to keep an eye on," Jeremiah said last week. "He is a good player. He takes great angles. He's nasty. He's got unbelievable football intelligence. Talk about having FBI, he's got it. He's everything you want from an intelligence and a toughness standpoint. There's just times where he gets a little bit of size on his nose, and he struggles a little bit with that. Here's where the challenge of trying to slot him in. He's a center only who really kind of fits the outside zone teams who really want a center that's athletic and can move. If you don't need a center, you cross all those teams off. And then if you weren't in this type of a system, which is pretty popular now with all the (Sean) McVay and (Kyle) Shanahan tree heading out all over the league, but if you don't run that system you're not going to like him as much. And then you have a little bit of the ghost of Garrett Bradbury, who's a guy that I quite honestly loved coming out of NC State and who's ultra athletic, and he went to one of those teams that runs all this stuff. But his issues with power and size have carried over to the NFL, and I think that could scare some teams a little bit on Linderbaum."

Linderbaum is going in the top 25 of most mock drafts, but there's always a chance he falls to the Bengals at the end of round one. Adding an athletic center like him could do wonders for Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon and the rest of this offense.

Make sure you bookmark All Bengals for the latest NFL news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

You May Also Like:

PFF Projects Bengals to Sign Top Offensive Lineman in Free Agency

Important Dates That Every Bengals Fan Should Have on Their Calendar

Analyst Believes Bengals Can Upgrade O-Line in Middle Rounds of Draft

Logan Wilson Underwent Successful Shoulder Surgery

Recent Signing Could Make it Tougher for Bengals to Retain C.J. Uzomah

Terron Armstead Should Be Bengals' No. 1 Target in Free Agency

Bengals Reportedly Interested in Signing Ravens Center Bradley Bozeman

Jessie Bates Doesn't Want to Play on Franchise Tag

Mike Hilton Continues to Recruit Star Players to Cincinnati

Jordan Palmer Posts Heartfelt Message to Joe Burrow After Super Bowl Loss