The Ravens took Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum with the No. 25 general decide Thursday evening, including the NFL draft’s high heart prospect after a sequence of trades that despatched large receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to the Arizona Cardinals.
The 6-foot-2, 296-pound Linderbaum was thought-about a greater match for zone-running schemes through the predraft course of, with the Ravens sometimes focusing on greater inside linemen for his or her power-heavy ideas. But Linderbaum, a consensus All-American, impressed group officers along with his athleticism and technical capability. He’s the primary first-round heart chosen by the Ravens in franchise historical past.
General supervisor Eric DeCosta referred to as him “one of the very most enjoyable football players to watch this year.” Coach John Harbaugh mentioned he anticipated Linderbaum to “come in and start,” liberating up Patrick Mekari to maneuver both to a different inside line place or return to his swing sort out position.
“You’re talking about one of the best technicians — strong, physical, tough, quick-footed,” DeCosta mentioned of Linderbaum after the primary spherical Thursday evening. “Somebody said it on TV, I think: If he was an inch taller and his arms were a half-inch longer, he would’ve been a top-five pick, and I believe that. He’s probably one of the better centers we’ve seen come out in a long time. So it filled a huge need for us.”
The decide was the byproduct of two draft-night trades. Minutes after taking Notre Dame security Kyle Hamilton at No. 14 general, the Ravens introduced they’d traded Brown, their main large receiver, and a third-round decide to the Cardinals for the No. 23 general decide. Forty minutes later, they swapped spots with Buffalo, buying the Bills’ picks at Nos. 25 and 130 general.
With wants at edge rusher, cornerback and offensive sort out, DeCosta as a substitute produced one other shock. At his predraft information convention earlier this month, he’d instructed that the Ravens have been in search of facilities greater than Linderbaum, who ranks within the sixth percentile or decrease amongst offensive linemen in peak, weight, wingspan and arm size. Only a handful of mock drafts this week related the Ravens to Linderbaum within the first spherical.
But Ravens director of participant personnel Joe Hortiz mentioned Linderbaum “can play, really, in any scheme.” According to Pro Football Focus, he graded out final season as an elite run blocker, although his rankings have been much better in zone schemes than in hole schemes, and an excellent go blocker (one sack and two quarterback hits allowed).
“He’s not the biggest guy,” Hortiz mentioned. “He gets on guys — you guys saw the highlights. That’s him every play. Big guys don’t affect him. He can leverage guys; you saw the wresting. He’s just really a tremendous athlete, knows how to play the position, knows how to get his body in the right spot, and then he just consistently works at maintaining his blocks. You’ll see it when they show highlights; he’ll block three guys in one play. He’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Harbaugh mentioned Linderbaum’s arrival would have a trickle-down impact on the offensive line, which was usually maligned final season amid its struggles with accidents and inconsistency.
“When you add a really good player, a top player into the top of the depth chart, the whole depth chart just kind of filters out in a great way,” he mentioned. “Pat Mekari nonetheless may discover his approach into the beginning lineup. There’s little question about it. He’s a extremely good participant. I’m assuming Tyler goes to come back in and begin at heart — for certain, clearly. We’ll see how [left tackle] Ronnie [Stanley] comes again, however all indicators level in the suitable path.
“We’ve got a heck of a right tackle [Morgan Moses], we think, maybe two [along with Ja’Wuan James]. We’ve got two veteran tackles we brought in here. There’s some depth already, and I think we may add another offensive lineman into the mix. So to me, there’s going to be a lot of competition for the starting spots, a certain one spot in particular [left guard], but then there’s going to be competition for those backup spots, big time. The thing we’re trying to do is be a physical, punishing offensive line. We want that kind of a mindset in our group, and that’s what Tyler Linderbaum brings to us.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com