Jacksonville Jaguars Midseason Rookie Recap: Brandon Linder
By Daniel Lago
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Heading into their bye week after a brutal loss in London, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a little more than halfway through the 2014 NFL regular season. The bye week also means it’s time to step back and briefly evaluate how some of the players have performed so far. The second year into a massive rebuild, the most interesting players to look at of course are the young guys who should eventually be the foundation for this team.
Over the course of the week, we’ll be taking a look at all of the rookies playing roles for the Jaguars right now. We’ll start with the undrafted guys and work our way down all the way to the first round pick.
Let’s take a look at maybe the most successful draft pick so far from the 2014 class – 3rd round guard Brandon Linder.
After the end of the 2013 season, it was clear that the interior of the offensive line was going to be a focal point in the offseason. The players who departed ranged from “past their prime” (center Brad Meester), to below-average (guard Uche Nwaneri), to just downright dreadful (guard Will Rackley). The team addressed one of the guard positions in free agency by signing Zane Beadles, but they still needed to to find a couple of guys on the inside. General manager David Caldwell thought enough of Brandon Linder to trade up into the third round and grab him before someone else did. It’s a decision I don’t think he regrets.
Here’s how Linder has fared so far according to our friends over at Pro Football Focus:
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Despite the narrative of the Jaguars having a poor offensive line, the unit has improved and played fairly well over the past several weeks. The low point of the season – a 10 sack disaster against the Washington Redskins in week 2 – was mostly the fault of guys who no longer start (Jacques McClendon and Cameron Bradfield). The one player who has been consistent and played well all season has been Brandon Linder. His overall (+10.8) grade on the season is the best of any offensive player on the Jaguars, and it’s good enough for 6th amongst all guards in the NFL. Linder hasn’t just been an adequate starting guard – he’s been one of the best guards in the league.
Finding an above average starting guard in the third round is absolutely a hit as far as I’m concerned, and that makes this grade easy.