Ravens Center Tyler Linderbaum Looking To Build On Strong Rookie Season
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Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum had a rookie season to remember in 2022.
Linderbaum, the No. 25 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, earned an overall grade of 74.7 from PFF, the sixth-best among centers. He also earned a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team, cementing his debut season as a smashing success.
Despite those highs, Linderbaum had some challenges in his rookie season. In particular, he realized how much of an adjustment jumping from college to the NFL is.
"Just coming in [to the NFL], I don't think you realize how hard of a game it is, especially the kind of talent that you're going against," Linderbaum said. "Every rep that you have in a game [or] in practice, it's not going to be easy, so just being more consistent is what everyone strives to be and something that everyone is trying to get better at. That's definitely something that is going to help set you up for success in this league – is just being consistent and doing your job."
Now that he has a full year under his belt, Linderbaum appears to be more comfortable heading into Year 2. However, that doesn't mean everything will just be the same as before.
The Ravens brought in a new offensive coordinator this offseason in Todd Monken, and with his arrival, the passing game figures to be a much bigger part of the offense. Linderbaum was great as a run-blocker with an 84.2 grade from PFF, but struggled more as a pass-blocker with a 53.3 grade. Adjusting to Monken's more pass-heavy offense is a tall order for the center, but he has no shortage of help around him.
"It's been a good transition. He's (Monken) doing a really good job at helping the guys, verbiage-wise keeping some similar stuff. There are little tweaks here and there, but at the end of the day, this is what we do for a living, so we have to be professional, work together with each other and just learn the offense.
"Whenever you have 18 games under your belt in the NFL it's definitely going to help you. There's still a lot for me personally to get better and to improve on, but we have a great coaching staff here and a great group of guys here that are willing to help each other out."
As a rookie, Linderbaum proved to be worth the first-round pick even while learning on the fly. If last season is any indication, he has what it takes to adjust to this new scheme.
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