2022 NFL Draft: Taking a look at the IOL this year and in past 10 drafts

It appears that for the sixth time in the past 10 drafts, both a center and a guard will go in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum is the unquestioned No. 1 player at his position and seems a given to go in the first round. Depending upon who you ask, Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green or Boston College’s Zion Johnson is the top guard, and chances are one of them goes in the first round, too.

In the past 10 drafts, a center and a guard have each been selected in the first round in 2013, ’15, ’16, ’18 and ’19.

We have produced a consensus top five among interior offensive linemen in this draft using the rankings of draft analysts Dane Brugler of The Athletic and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com as well as the ESPN consensus (from among analysts Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Matt Miller and Jason Reid). We also take a look at the position in the past 10 drafts.

This is part 5 of an eight-part draft series leading into the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, which is Thursday, April 28 in Las Vegas. We looked at quarterbacks on Wednesday, running backs Thursday, wide receivers and tight ends Friday and offensive tackles on Saturday, with defensive linemen coming Monday, linebackers Tuesday and defensive backs next Wednesday.

As a refresher, here are the underclassmen who are available in the draft. And if you want to look into the recruiting rankings of those taken in the past few drafts, you can have fun with the On3 NFL Draft by Stars database.

Consensus top 5 IOL in this draft

1. C Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa

The skinny: On3 Consensus three-star prospect, from Solon (Iowa) High, as a defensive lineman in the 2018 recruiting class. After redshirting as a true freshman, Linderbaum became a three-year starter for the Hawkeyes. He could be the fifth center taken in the first round in the past seven drafts. Linderbaum seems all but certain to be the fifth Iowa offensive lineman to go in the first round since 2010: T Bryan Bulaga in 2010, T Riley Reiff in 2012, G Brandon Scherff in 2015 and T Tristan Wirfs in 2020. He’s also poised to be the third Hawkeyes center to be selected in the past seven drafts.

2. G Kenyon Green, Texas A&M

The skinny: On3 Consensus five-star prospect, from Humble (Texas) Atascocita, as an offensive tackle in the 2019 recruiting class. Green was recruited as a tackle but played guard as a true freshman with the Aggies because of a need and never moved. A&M’s Germain Ifedi was recruited as a tackle but ended up playing guard and was a first-round pick in 2016. Green might not go in the first round, but he should be the highest-drafted A&M interior lineman since Ifedi.

3. G Zion Johnson, Boston College

The skinny: On3 Consensus unranked prospect, from Upper Marlboro (Md.) Riverdale Baptist, in the 2017 recruiting class. Johnson was a five-year starter in college: He spent his first two seasons as a tackle at FCS member Davidson, then became a three-year starter for BC. He played guard for BC in 2019, moved to tackle in 2020, then moved back inside in 2021. The last guard drafted from BC was Chris Lindstrom, a first-rounder in 2019.

4. G Cole Strange, Chattanooga

The skinny: On3 Consensus two-star prospect, from Knoxville (Tenn.) Farragut, as a defensive end in the 2016 recruiting class. Thanks to the extra COVID year for players, Strange was a rare five-year starter. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2016 and made the move from defensive end; he then started from 2017-21. While he was a guard for the Mocs, some NFL teams think he can be a center. Strange would be the first Moc drafted since 2017, when G Corey Levin was a sixth-round pick, and the seventh Chattanooga player this century.

5. C Cam Jurgens, Nebraska

The skinny: On3 Consensus four-star prospect, from Beatrice (Neb.) High, as a tight end in the 2018 recruiting class. Jurgens was a three-year starter for the Huskers after moving from tight end as a true freshman. Nebraska hasn’t had a player drafted earlier than the fifth round since 2016; in addition, 23 of the Huskers’ 32 draftees starting with the 2010 draft have been taken in the fourth round or later.

First-round IOL in past 10 drafts

+ There have been 22 interior linemen selected in the first round in the past 10 drafts – 15 guards and seven centers.

+ None were On3 Consensus five-star recruits.

+ The recruiting ranking of the 22: The four-star prospects were G Jonathan Cooper, G David DeCastro, G Ereck Flowers (as a tackle), G Joshua Garnett, G Germain Ifedi (as a tackle), C Ryan Kelly, G Quenton Nelson, C Billy Price, C Frank Ragnow, C Cesar Ruiz, G Alijah Vera-Tucker, G Chance Warmack and G Isaiah Wynn (as a tackle). C Garrett Bradbury, C Cam Erving (as a defensive tackle), C Travis Frederick, G Chris Lindstrom, G Brandon Scherff, G RaShawn Slater and G Laken Tomlinson were three-star recruits. G Kyle Long was a three-star junior college prospect. And G Kevin Zeitler was an unranked prospect.

+ The conference breakdown of the 22: Six each from the ACC and Big Ten, five from the SEC, three from the Pac-12 and one from the independent ranks. The last interior lineman from the Big 12 to go in the first round was Baylor G Danny Watkins in 2011.

+ Five interior linemen have been selected in the top 10 (all guards). And twice in the past 10 drafts, two guards have gone in the top 10.

+ Three times in the past 10 drafts – 2013, ’15 and ’18 – four interior lineman have gone in the first round. Three went in the first round in 2016. There were two in 2012, ’19 and ’21, and one in 2020. There were no interior linemen selected in the first round in 2014 and ’17.

+ Half of the interior linemen to go in the first round went 20^th or later in the round.

+ Alabama, Stanford and Wisconsin have had two first-round interior linemen each in the past 10 drafts, including three in the top 10.

Total IOL taken in past 10 drafts

+ There have been 223 interior linemen selected in the past 10 drafts – 145 guards and 78 centers. The high was 29 in 2015 and a low of 19 in 2012, ’13 and ’17.

+ There have been 15 more interior linemen drafted in the past 10 years than offensive tackles.

+ Almost 40 percent of all interior linemen drafted (38.4 percent) were taken in the first three rounds. It was a bit higher percentage for guards (39.6) than centers (35.9).

+ Alabama and Michigan have had nine interior linemen selected in the past 10 drafts, the most of any school. Ohio State has had seven and Georgia six.

+ Some surprisingly low totals: Minnesota and Oklahoma State with none; Texas, Virginia Tech, Washington and West Virginia with one each; and Clemson and Kentucky with two. Tennessee State has had four – twice as many as Tennessee.

The 5-star interior linemen

We looked at the five-star interior linemen in the 2009-19 recruiting classes (those in the ’09 class were eligible for the first time in the 2012 draft and those in the ’19 class are eligible for this draft).

+ There were three five-star interior linemen in those 11 classes: Isaac Seumalo in 2012 and Harry Miller and Clay Webb in 2019. We stuck with their original recruiting designation: If they were listed as a tackle in the recruiting rankings at the time though they eventually may have been moved inside, they counted as a tackle.

+ Webb is in the transfer portal after leaving Georgia and presumably will be playing somewhere this fall. Miller gave up football earlier this year for mental health reasons.

+ Seumalo, who played at Oregon State, eventually became a third-round draft pick.