How good can Lindstrom be?

[Summerhill]

In a lot of previous drafts, there is one top offensive guard who is identified early in the process and everyone anticipates being a top 20 pick. I think Chris Lindstrom eventually arrived there but he was not identified early in the process like Quenton Nelson, Brandon Scherff, Zack Martin, Jonathan Cooper, and David DeCastro before him. 

But the more I look at him he really checks every box and probably should have been considered like one of these guys.

He has a great pedigree playing for a school which produces good offensive linemen and most importantly only produces worthwhile offensive linemen. In other words, when people think BC has a NFL caliber offensive linemen, he's going to at least be pretty good, and not the product of a good system, good running back, good quarterback, etc.

He has played in a ton of games. For one, really good offensive linemen tend to start early. For two, the more tape a player has, the more opportunities he has to show you his weaknesses and that just didn't happen.

His head coach is an offensive line specialist and has specifically compared Lindstrom to the Pouncey twins, whom he coached at Florida. 

He has some pretty exceptional athleticism to project against the professionals and isn't just a try-hard player. He tries hard while having the physical tools to dominate. 

The more and more I think about this, I think Lindstrom could be really good. I would project him somewhere between the David DeCastro and Kyle Long tiers. 

Edited April 29, 2019 by Summerhill

[g-dawg]

DeCastro

[brewman]

I have no idea of Lindstrom's upside, but all I ask is that he's a significant upgrade from Wes Schweitzer day 1.

[halifaxfalcon]

I'm not concerned where he sits amongst the above guys... I'd just be pleased if he's an above average starter for the next 10 years. If him and McGary can anchor the right side of our o-line we only really need to revisit the LG and C positions in the coming years. LT, RG and RT should be set for 4-5 years minimum

[Lowndesfalc]

How about one of our own? Bill Fralic!!! Both are only guards ever drafted in first round in Falcons history. 

[ya_boi_j]

Right now I'm gonna go with DeCastro.

[DonOfThemBirds]

 I wouldn't say Chance Warmack is a bust. He isn't great, he is serviceable now and was a part of that SB o-line for the Eagles in 2017.

[DonOfThemBirds]

 

I'm going to shoot for the moon and say Zack Martin just because no one else will.

[DonOfThemBirds]

 

As for DeCastro, he is a 3-time All-Pro and 4-time Pro Bowler.

 

He could very well be a HOFer with another high level season or two.

[PriMeTiiMe]

Maybe Yanda or DeCastro if all goes perfectly. Likely Long or Jackson.

Guards like Zack Martin and Quentin Nelson are on a different level.

[gazoo]

The Patriots OL coach said he has ability to be a perennial all pro.

I said after watching him, assessing his athleticism, how it fits in our scheme, his nasty aggressive play to the whistle style, that he could be as good of a player as Alex Mack has been for us. 

That’s not to say I’m predicting he will have same 10 year career path as Mack and be destined to HOF, but I’m sure Patriots OL coach wasn’t saying that either. 

HOF requires consistency at a very high level for a decade or more. That’s a lot harder to do than to make The pro bowl for 4 or 5 years. 

 

 

 

[Francis York Morgan]

How good "can" he be is the key here. He has the highest ceiling of any guard in the draft imho, barring guys that make surprise moves from tackle to guard. I think he does have an All Pro/HOF ceiling, but it's far from a sure thing. He's gonna be a good one. That's as much as I'm sure of.

[Beef]

28 minutes ago, DawnOfThemBirds said:

 

I'm going to shoot for the moon and say Zack Martin just because no one else will.

Lindstrom reminds me of Zack Martin more than anyone.  6'4, 308 (identical), started every game from day 1 through final year, no injuries, gave up fewest TFL's, pressures, and sacks of any OG in FBS his junior and senior year, RB's averaged 4.8+ YPC running behind them, very cerebral and a technician of the position, dominant at both run and pass blocking....

I think Lindstrom actually has a slightly higher RAS score than Martin and might be a little quicker too (makes him more suited for ZBS).

I'm not going to vote him into ZM/HOF category just yet, however.  That's just impossible to know.  If Lindstrom ends up a DeCastro caliber OG, though, we hit solid gold with this pick.  And I think he'll be at least that.

[atljbo]

I think in our zone system his athleticism will shine

[falcons007]

4 minutes ago, Beef said:

Lindstrom reminds me of Zack Martin more than anyone.  6'4, 308 (identical), started every game from day 1 through final year, no injuries, gave up fewest TFL's, pressures, and sacks of any OG in FBS his junior and senior year, RB's averaged 4.8+ YPC running behind them, very cerebral and a technician of the position, dominant at both run and pass blocking....

I think Lindstrom actually has a slightly higher RAS score than Martin and might be a little quicker too (makes him more suited for ZBS).

I'm not going to vote him into ZM/HOF category just yet, however.  That's just impossible to know.  If Lindstrom ends up a DeCastro caliber OG, though, we hit solid gold with this pick.  And I think he'll be at least that.

This is where I am at, Zack Martin kinda pick. It’s hard to know what he will become but looks very similar. Dallas Cowboys fans were pissed off when they selected Zack Martin, day same thing here on TATF.

[takeitdown]

11 minutes ago, Beef said:

Lindstrom reminds me of Zack Martin more than anyone.  6'4, 308 (identical), started every game from day 1 through final year, no injuries, gave up fewest TFL's, pressures, and sacks of any OG in FBS his junior and senior year, RB's averaged 4.8+ YPC running behind them, very cerebral and a technician of the position, dominant at both run and pass blocking....

I think Lindstrom actually has a slightly higher RAS score than Martin and might be a little quicker too (makes him more suited for ZBS).

I'm not going to vote him into ZM/HOF category just yet, however.  That's just impossible to know.  If Lindstrom ends up a DeCastro caliber OG, though, we hit solid gold with this pick.  And I think he'll be at least that.

Yeah, it's so hard to tell how OL will end up.

But his measurables are nearly identical to Martin (height, weight, bench, broad, vertical, 3 cone, etc.) with Lindstrom actually showing slightly more speed and power on all but bench.

There's so much about dog, and hip flexibility, and hand fighting at OL that it's really hard to see what they'll actually become.  But does seem in the same mold.

[MSalmon]

22 minutes ago, Beef said:

Lindstrom reminds me of Zack Martin more than anyone.  6'4, 308 (identical), started every game from day 1 through final year, no injuries, gave up fewest TFL's, pressures, and sacks of any OG in FBS his junior and senior year, RB's averaged 4.8+ YPC running behind them, very cerebral and a technician of the position, dominant at both run and pass blocking....

I think Lindstrom actually has a slightly higher RAS score than Martin and might be a little quicker too (makes him more suited for ZBS).

I'm not going to vote him into ZM/HOF category just yet, however.  That's just impossible to know.  If Lindstrom ends up a DeCastro caliber OG, though, we hit solid gold with this pick.  And I think he'll be at least that.

I like this and felt compelled to quote it, as it’s a great write up. I, also, see a lot of Martin in him. He’s incredibly intelligent, plays with leverage and his ability to pull is simply phenomenal. I see him as LG for a long time

at worse, I see Joel Bitinio. A good technician with athleticism that starts for a long time

[Smiler11]

Out of that list the guy he reminds me of the most from a playing style is Zach Martin, but I don't want to say he's a future pro bowler or HOF at this point. He still needs to earn that starting spot, just build from there.

A guy not on your list, but is the best comparison I've seen is Brandon Scherff.

[rcky_mtn_falcon]

Doesn't matter, you left the option off the poll.

Don't care, he was drafted to high and I will complain about over drafting him even if he does earn a gold jacket. /S

[MSalmon]

7 minutes ago, rcky_mtn_falcon said:

Doesn't matter, you left the option off the poll.

Don't care, he was drafted to high and I will complain about over drafting him even if he does earn a gold jacket. /S

Why? That’s completely illogical.

[PriMeTiiMe]

1 minute ago, MSalmon said:

Why? That’s completely illogical.

I think you missed the last part of his post. 

[MSalmon]

1 minute ago, PriMeTiiMe said:

I think you missed the last part of his post. 

Sarcasm?

[Summerhill]

1 hour ago, takeitdown said:

Yeah, it's so hard to tell how OL will end up.

But his measurables are nearly identical to Martin (height, weight, bench, broad, vertical, 3 cone, etc.) with Lindstrom actually showing slightly more speed and power on all but bench.

There's so much about dog, and hip flexibility, and hand fighting at OL that it's really hard to see what they'll actually become.  But does seem in the same mold.

Numerically, he is right there with any prospect. Subjectively, if you read old scouting reports for Martin, the evaluators seem more confident in Martin's level of bend and flexibility than it seems for Lindstrom. 

[Summerhill]

1 hour ago, MSalmon said:

at worse, I see Joel Bitinio. A good technician with athleticism that starts for a long time

I would put Bitonio in between Gabe Jackson and Kyle Long. 

48 minutes ago, Smiler11 said:

A guy not on your list, but is the best comparison I've seen is Brandon Scherff.

Hard to say since he hasn't been playing long but right now Scherff looks like between DeCastro and Yanda territory. 

[g-dawg]

Has anyone else noticed that some internet sites have Lindstrom at 308lbs and others at 329lbs?

Rather large gap there, don’t ‘cha think?