4 potential replacements for former Ravens center Bradley Bozeman
By Justin Fried
3. The Ravens could draft Tyler Linderbaum
If the Ravens are looking to solidify the future of the position and land a player who could even serve as a short-term upgrade, the 2022 NFL Draft might be the way to go.
Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum is widely seen as not only the best center prospect in this year’s class, but one of the best center prospects the NFL has seen in years.
He’s a surefire day-one starter whose athleticism gives him All-Pro potential at the next level. Linderbaum is everything teams look for in a center prospect.
That said, if the Ravens want to land him, they’ll have to use their first-round pick to snag him. The expectation is that he’s still available by the time the Ravens pick at No. 14 overall, but they might not be able to afford to wait.
It seems unlikely that the Ravens plan to draft Linderbaum. It would be a very anti-Ravens move to bank their entire draft strategy on one player being available at one specific spot.
There isn’t another viable center to take in the first (or maybe even the second) round. If they miss on Linderbaum, that’s it. They likely aren’t finding an immediate starter in the draft.
On top of that, they still have other needs to address such as the offensive line and edge rusher. Using their first-round pick on a center would prevent them from addressing those positions early in the draft.
Linderbaum is an exciting option, but he’s not a very likely option.