Should Jaguars consider trading down to draft C Tyler Linderbaum?

Jaguars would be set at center for years with Linderbaum.

Lindenbaum was a consensus All-American last season and was the recipient of the Dave Rimington Trophy. The latter being an award that’s bestowed upon the best center in college football for that respective year.

The only downside to drafting Linderbaum is that, due to his size, he’d be strictly a center prospect. There is not much versatility with Linderbaum, but hey, picking him up leaves the Jaguars with one less worry. Besides being a solid pass blocker, Linderbaum truly shines in the run game. His leg strength, combined with his hips, gives him a nice burst out of his stance, and while keeping good balance, he is very good at blocking downfield defenders.

His wrestling background will suit him well in pass blocking while playing in the middle. He’ll be able to wrestle down incoming linemen to the ground with relative ease, helping lead to a clean pocket for Lawrence. As is the case with any NFL rookie, he’ll have his share of issues, mostly due to his size at first. His hands will only do so much against massive NFL-level nose tackles. On the bright side, this can be corrected with time and proper weight training.

Prospects such as Linderbaum don’t come around too often. It would behoove Jaguars management to find a way to acquire this promising youngster.