The Vikings Can Find Garrett Bradbury's Replacement Without Drafting Tyler Linderbaum
The long-term outlook of the Minnesota Vikings' offensive line is as promising as it has been in quite some time. They've got bookend tackles locked in for the foreseeable future in Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill, and left guard Ezra Cleveland looks to be a reliable fixture as well. The immediate focus of this year is about finding a starter at right guard — thankfully, the cupboard is not bare — and planning for the future at center.
2019 first-round pick Garrett Bradbury will likely remain the Vikings' starting C in his fourth season, but that's no longer a guarantee. And with the obvious, expected report that Minnesota won't pick up his $13.2 million fifth-year option for 2023, this could be Bradbury's last year with the team that drafted him. His long-term replacement doesn't appear to currently be on the roster, but this week's NFL draft presents a great opportunity for the Vikings to find one.
There's a contingent of Vikings fans that would like to see their favorite team make that move in the first round. Roughly 300 miles south of Minneapolis, Tyler Linderbaum had a fantastic career at Iowa, becoming a two-time first team All-American and winning the Rimington Award as the nation's top center in 2021. Whether due to trauma from watching Bradbury and Pat Elflein struggle over the past four years — or perhaps an allegiance to the Hawkeyes — there are plenty of fans who want to see the Vikings draft Linderbaum.
I'm here to tell you that Minnesota can, and should, find a long-term Bradbury replacement outside of the first round.
Linderbaum might end up being a fantastic NFL center. But there are just too many similarities to Bradbury in his profile and too many intriguing middle-round options for me to feel good about picking him in the first round, whether or 12 or after trading back. That's before getting into the positional value argument and the opportunity cost of missing out on a top defensive back, defensive lineman, or wide receiver in the first round.
It's not fair to Linderbaum to chalk him up as the second coming of Bradbury, but their strengths and weaknesses coming out of college are eerily similar. The one thing that has prevented Bradbury from playing center at a high level in the NFL is the one thing that's concerning about Linderbaum as a prospect: anchoring ability in pass protection due to a lack of size.
Bradbury is 6'3", 300 pounds with very short arms at 31.75". That lack of mass and length has been a key factor in his year-in, year-out inability to anchor against big defensive tackles and keep them out of the backfield. In each of his first two NFL seasons, Bradbury ranked dead last in PFF pass-blocking grade among centers who played at least 500 snaps. Last year, he ranked second-to-last, ahead of only, ironically enough, Elflein. After a stint on the COVID list, he was essentially benched to keep Mason Cole in the lineup.
Linderbaum is even smaller: 6'2", 296 pounds with 31.125" arms. Like Bradbury, he's a fantastic lateral athlete who will almost certainly thrive as a run-blocker in a zone scheme. Like Bradbury, he was an incredible all-around player and prospect in college. If Linderbaum figures out how to be even adequate as a pass-blocker, he'll have a long and productive career.
Regardless, the risk of a Bradbury repeat, combined with the lack of positional value, has me completely out on the idea of taking Linderbaum in the first.
Instead, I believe the Vikings should strongly consider drafting a center with their third-round pick, which is currently No. 77 overall. Chattanooga's Cole Strange, Nebraska's Cam Jurgens, and Kentucky's Luke Fortner would all make a lot of sense with that pick, and each one has the traits to potentially become a long-time starting center in the NFL. Memphis's Dylan Parham played guard and tackle in college, but might project best as a center. All of those players come with some concerns regarding size and pass protection — that's partly why they're centers and not guards or tackles — but at least you aren't using a first-round pick to acquire them.
If the Vikings wait until Day 3 to add a center, players like Wake Forest's Zach Tom, Mississippi's Ben Brown, Boston College's Alec Lindstrom, and Arizona State's Dohnovan West could all be intriguing options. In theory, it's easier to find a potential starting interior offensive lineman in the late rounds than it is to find a starter at most other positions.
If the Vikings draft a center this year, that player can come in and compete with Bradbury right away. Barring a resurgence with a new offense and coaching staff, Bradbury's time in Minnesota will likely be ending after this season, so drafting his long-term replacement this year makes a lot of sense.
I just can't get behind doing it in the first round.
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