How Cody Lindenberg Fits with the Las Vegas Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders lost half of their defensive starters to free agency earlier in the offseason, as Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo left shortly after the end of last season. Their departures left Las Vegas thin at linebacker. While they made additions, Las Vegas still needed help at linebacker.

The Raiders selected linebacker Cody Lindenberg with their final pick in the draft, adding another option at linebacker.

According to Daniel Harms, Lindenberg "looks the part of an off-ball linebacker and shows off his speed with quick downhill movements to trigger into open gaps and get in the backfield. He’s spent five seasons in college and compiled a Rolodex of information that helps with player communication and play recognition. His quick acceleration gets him to gaps, but he struggles to stack blocks from offensive linemen, locate the football, and shed quickly," Harms said.

Still, the Lindenberg must quickly improve if he hopes to secure a roster spot with the Raiders.

"He needs to work on extending his arms more against blocks, not leading with his shoulder into the lineman, and losing sight of the football. As a force defender on the play side, he does well to attack the edge and force ball carriers inside, using that outside linebacker background to his benefit. He frequently finds himself around the football, but as a pursuit defender, he overruns the ball-carrier and misses too many tackles. Squaring up more consistently will improve the tackling numbers. He operates best sifting through traffic and getting into the backfield, where he can use his speed to impact the run game."

The Raiders' new linebacker will likely start off in a reserve role but could very well earn playing time eventually. Lindenberg will be a developmental piece but could work his way up the depth chart, as the Raiders' group of linebackers is not good enough that he cannot compete for a spot.

"Lindenberg looks comfortable in coverage with proper depth and smooth movements, recognizing route concepts and keeping his eyes on the quarterback. He’s quick to drop into coverage when mugged up and dropping, and displays good backpedal to get into place. He’s a good athlete, but when moving with momentum laterally, he struggles to change directly quickly and accelerate. He’s a high-energy pursuit player, which can work against him in coverage, but he has the tools to succeed in coverage with his football IQ and how he reads and reacts to the quarterback's eyes," Harms said.

"He’s got good arm length and timing, which shows up in pass deflections in space and leaping to make tackles. He can play man against tight ends and running backs, but quick movements will put him in trail technique where he doesn’t want to be. Minnesota used his past experience as a pass rusher in obvious passing situations and lined him up on the edge, where he flashed some pass-rush moves. Having two full seasons of playing time as an off-ball linebacker due to injury and learning the position makes Lindenberg an intriguing upside player."

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