2026 Offseason Thread

[JoeyFlex5]

what draft pick do you think has the best chance of massively outplaying their draft stock? I think Adam Randall in the fifth is a no brainer selection. His ceiling is pretty crazy for a fifth round back who really might just need a year of development after switching positions in college

 

[JoeyFlex5]

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There's no way to hide poor line play from the guy that touches the ball every play. We suffered with it off and on for 10 years, it wasn't pretty. Hopefully we find a guy that is at the least decent.

i agree with all of this, however our OL as a whole was better with 2 quality guards and an average center, than with an elite center and 2 ass guards.

If our center can at least be middle of the pack, and our guards are as good as they SHOULD be, then our OL should be improved. And something to note about linderbaum is that pass protection was our biggest issue and linderbaum wasn’t special in that regard, it was what he struggled with most.

Really is a shame the raiders went absolutely apeshit with their offer to linderbaum. If we had linderbaum with this OL then I’d crown us SB champs already, that OL would be an absolute unit

 

[Tank]

Really is a shame the raiders went absolutely apeshit with their offer to linderbaum. If we had linderbaum with this OL then I’d crown us SB champs already, that OL would be an absolute unit

Yeah, Lindy turned out to be exactly what was expected and more. But you can’t control free agency and the real shame is we didn’t have the ability to extend and lock him up in 2024. He could have been the anchor for the O line we’ve wished we had for years.

 

[UPennChem]

I really dont understand why Linderbaum was glazed to death like he was some kind of sure fire future HOF guy. Dude was very good in the run game, absolutely mediocre in the pass game, and was not at all without his fair share of snap miscues.

Was he a great draft pick, yeah. Was it ok we didn't pay him a ridiculous contract? Yes, we are far better off for not.

 

[rossihunter2]

There's no way to hide poor line play from the guy that touches the ball every play. We suffered with it off and on for 10 years, it wasn't pretty. Hopefully we find a guy that is at the least decent.

what im saying is... having watched Pinter, i really think he's gonna be fine
and pinter's never had a problem snapping the ball so the fact that he "touches the ball" on every play really doesnt matter in terms of his evaluation/projection

 

[rossihunter2]

Yeah, Lindy turned out to be exactly what was expected and more. But you can’t control free agency and the real shame is we didn’t have the ability to extend and lock him up in 2024. He could have been the anchor for the O line we’ve wished we had for years.

i dont know that Lindy turned into more than he was expected
he became exactly the player he was expected to be

 

[rossihunter2]

I really dont understand why Linderbaum was glazed to death like he was some kind of sure fire future HOF guy. Dude was very good in the run game, absolutely mediocre in the pass game, and was not at all without his fair share of snap miscues.

Was he a great draft pick, yeah. Was it ok we didn't pay him a ridiculous contract? Yes, we are far better off for not.

100%
he was a top 7 C on a yearly basis - probably top 2-5 when he plays at his peak

he's being paid like a generational talent at C

he's never once made an all-pro team (not even 2nd team)

he's a good player, but he's not irreplaceable

 

[Baltimorican]

Yeah, Lindy turned out to be exactly what was expected and more. But you can’t control free agency and the real shame is we didn’t have the ability to extend and lock him up in 2024. He could have been the anchor for the O line we’ve wished we had for years.

Well I doubt we draft Vega if Lindy were locked up.

 

[Tank]

what im saying is... having watched Pinter, i really think he's gonna be fine
and pinter's never had a problem snapping the ball so the fact that he "touches the ball" on every play really doesnt matter in terms of his evaluation/projection

OK, I hope Pinter does pan out, that would be great. I do find it curious though that the Colts passed over him and turned to a relatively inexperienced Bortolini to replace Kelly. It does sound like Pinter is a high IQ player though.

You took the "touches the ball" comment a bit too literally as the center's responsibilities on every play go beyond that.

 

[Tank]

Well I doubt we draft Vega if Lindy were locked up.

Why? We needed a quality guard regardless of Tyler leaving.

 

[gtalk12]

Why? We needed a quality guard regardless of Tyler leaving.

I am kind of rollin with the idea that if Tyler was still here we don't go Vega

 

[JoeyFlex5]

i dont know that Lindy turned into more than he was expected
he became exactly the player he was expected to be

Literally the least surprising draft result in nfl history

Undersized uber athletic hella smart center. Did things right, moved really well and was a weapon run blocking in the second level, struggled with pass pro due to a weak anchor but held up fairly well.

It’s exactly what his draft report was and it’s exactly who he became in the league.

Great player, but so incredibly overpaid now. It’s sad he’s gone but you just can’t spend that, raiders doing things that bad franchises do.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Well I doubt we draft Vega if Lindy were locked up.

I think we were drafting Vega either way.

I don’t think Bain was graded as highly by our FO as he was by our fans. And I don’t imagine Sadiq was higher than Vega on our board.

Just wanna say again thank god we didn’t draft Sadiq

 

[Tank]

I am kind of rollin with the idea that if Tyler was still here we don't go Vega

Why?

 

[Tank]

Literally the least surprising draft result in nfl history

Undersized uber athletic hella smart center. Did things right, moved really well and was a weapon run blocking in the second level, struggled with pass pro due to a weak anchor but held up fairly well.

It’s exactly what his draft report was and it’s exactly who he became in the league.

Great player, but so incredibly overpaid now. It’s sad he’s gone but you just can’t spend that, raiders doing things that bad franchises do.

It sucks to see a successful first rounder hit free agency and leave. But hey, good for him, he's probably making as much Vegas in 3 years that he would have here in 5.

 

[rossihunter2]

You took the "touches the ball" comment a bit too literally as the center's responsibilities on every play go beyond that.

was taking it literally because that was the part of their role that you were using to describe how critical they are...

 

[JAAM]

 

[gtalk12]

View attachment 8250

This is unhinged lmao

 

[JoeyFlex5]

The offseason is a dark and dreary time, look at us…

 

[Tank]

was taking it literally because that was the part of their role that you were using to describe how critical they are...

OK. “Touches the ball every play” is a common thought people use that comes from my baseball background describing the importance and criticality of having a good catcher. It’s obvious that there’s much more involved with his job other than catching(touching)the ball. Maybe it would have been better to say that the center’s performance is important to the success of each and every play, and it’s much harder to hide poor performance by him than it is for a guard.