The 2020 season is half over for the Green Bay Packers, making it the perfect time to start seriously considering center Corey Linsley for Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.
There has been no better player at the center position in the NFL this season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Linsley has allowed just a single pressure despite playing 321 pass-blocking snaps. He hasn’t committed a penalty and is also the site’s top-graded run-blocking center, with his 89.5 grade in the run game representing a new career-best. Overall, Linsley is the top-rated center (91.1) in the NFL at PFF by over 10 points (next highest: Frank Ragnow, 78.0).
Linsley, now in his seventh season as the starting center in Green Bay, is playing the 2020 season on the final year of his deal. He has never been a Pro Bowler or All-Pro.
Helping his cause this year: Linsley is playing great, and he’s the anchor for one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.
Aaron Rodgers has been sacked nine times in eight games. His sack percentage is 3.1, far and away the best of his career as the Packers starting quarterback. According to PFF, he’s been under pressure on just 24.2 percent of his dropbacks, the fourth-best mark among NFL starting quarterbacks.
Despite moving parts to his left and right due to injuries, Linsley has remained the lone constant. As a center, Linsley works with Rodgers to identify defensive fronts and potential blitzes and change protections on the fly.
The run game has been productive. Blocking plays a big part, and the Packers rank sixth in the NFL in adjusted line yards, a metric developed by Football Outsiders to judge the quality of run blocking by the offensive line.
Linsley has been terrific in the middle. He is quick off the ball, allowing him to execute difficult reach blocks in the wide zone run scheme, and he times out combo blocks well, using awareness and feel to move off double teams and get to the second level to create alleyways for running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams.
Sports Info Solutions has a metric known as “Total Points Earned.” Among centers, Linsley ranks second in the NFL, trailing only Jason Kelce. He ranks third in points earned through pass-blocking and fourth in run blocking, and he’s been credited with just one “blown block.”
The metrics are clear: Linsley is playing at a very high level. He is arguably the NFL’s best center entering Week 10, and he’s anchoring the middle for a top offensive line and one of the NFL’s top offenses overall.
One election might be over but a new campaign is beginning. Corey Linsley for Pro Bowl and All-Pro in 2020.
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