Another day, another 2022 NFL draft projection that has Iowa center [autotag]Tyler Linderbaum[/autotag] coming off the board as a first-round draft pick. The latest is from USA TODAY Sports writer Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz who predicts that the Dallas Cowboys will select Linderbaum with the No. 24 overall pick.
Casting off La’el Collins and letting Connor Williams walk reinforced that Dallas’ offensive line has taken a serious step back. While adding Linderbaum would not fill either of the voids created by the offseason loss, the selection would represent a return to the approach that set the Cowboys up for success when they selected Tyron Smith, Tyler Frederick and Zack Martin with three of their four first-round picks from 2011-14. – Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY Sports.
Middlehurst-Schwartz has Linderbaum as the sixth offensive lineman off the board and the first center. He had Alabama offensive lineman Evan Neal being drafted No. 3 overall by the Houston Texans, North Carolina State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu being drafted No. 5 by the New York Giants, Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross drafted No. 17 by the Los Angeles Chargers, Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning drafted No. 18 by the New Orleans Saints and Boston College guard Zion Johnson drafted No. 21 by the New England Patriots.
The Dallas Cowboys have a young center in Tyler Biadasz who started all 17 regular-season games last season. As DallasCowboys.com senior writer Rob Phillips touched on in his progress report for Biadasz, he had just the 18th best center grade for the season according to Pro Football Focus and he and the Cowboys struggled at times against some of the better defensive fronts they saw. It’s possible that Dallas will be looking to upgrade at center and create competition at the interior of its offensive line.
If Linderbaum is selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, he would become the 11th player drafted in the first round under Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz.
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