Tyler Linderbaum’s $81 Million Deal Has NFL Coaches Split on Whether He’s a Star or a Liability

The Las Vegas Raiders spent big this spring. They signed Kirk Cousins, drafted Fernando Mendoza, and threw a three-year, $81 million contract at center Tyler Linderbaum. That kind of money usually means you’re getting a franchise cornerstone. But according to ESPN’s latest ranking of interior offensive linemen, not everyone in the league is convinced.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler dropped the annual top-10 list on Sunday, based on votes from more than 70 NFL scouts, coaches, and executives. Linderbaum landed at No. 8. He moved up two spots from last year’s No. 10. That’s progress, sure. But for a guy who just signed one of the biggest center deals in the league, it’s not exactly a glowing endorsement.

Here’s where it gets weird. Some voters had Linderbaum as their No. 1 interior lineman. Others didn’t even include him in their top 10. That kind of split is rare for a player who got paid like an elite talent.

What the coaches are saying

One veteran NFL defensive coach told Fowler that Linderbaum is legit. A heavy-handed center that can get to the second level, the coach said. There aren’t many of those at the center position who can do that at a high level. And he can run the show from a communication standpoint.

That sounds like a guy you want anchoring your line. But not everyone agrees. Fowler noted that some coaches see Linderbaum as a pass-protection liability. Despite Linderbaum’s impressive pass-blocking numbers, some coaches say he’s a liability in that area at times and can ‘float and help’ with scheme protection instead of matching up one-on-one, Fowler wrote.

So you’ve got one group saying he’s elite at getting to the second level and running the protection calls. Another group saying he can’t be trusted in a straight-up pass block. That’s a pretty big gap for a guy making $27 million a year.

The Raiders clearly don’t care

Las Vegas saw enough to write the check. The plan is simple: keep Cousins clean and let Ashton Jeanty run through holes Linderbaum creates. If that works, nobody will care about the anonymous coach quotes. If it doesn’t, that contract is going to look rough fast.

Linderbaum will get his chance to prove the doubters wrong when the season starts. The Raiders think they got a difference-maker. A bunch of NFL evaluators aren’t so sure. Fall can’t get here soon enough.