The Green Bay Packers offensive line is decent, but clearly has room to improve. That's where Corey Linsley comes into play.
At one point not that long ago, it seemed like Aaron Rodgers was in mortal danger every play. The Green Bay Packers offensive line tended to let a man through on most occasions, or at least it seemed that way.
Over the last few seasons, they've improved slightly. Last season, they gave up 35 sacks, 15th best in the league. Obviously, there's till plenty of room for improvement, but at least fans don't have to close their eyes every play. No one wants to see their quarterback go down, so when it's someone as good as Rodgers, he needs special protection.
Corey Linsley came into the league in 2014, and became an instant star. He was clearly the center of the future, a great run blocker and above-average pass blocker. The honeymoon period didn't last long though. In 2015, Linsley showed signs of struggle that weren't there in 2014. Add on some injury concerns and fans were growing weary. Nothing an offseason couldn't fix though, right?
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Wrong. Linsley tore his hamstring twice, ending his 2016 season before it even started. Now the Packers are in a predicament. Linsley is now well over a calendar year removed from playing a regular season game. While that's bad, his regression from his rookie to sophomore campaigns is just as worrisome. How will he be in Year 3 (or Year 4, if you want to consider it that way)?
What should the Packers do about this? Simple—trust him. The ability to stonewall on the offensive line isn't easy, seeing a center do it as well as Linsley is capable of is impressive.
Now, there's no telling what version of Linsley the Packers will get in 2017. The thing is, even that version of him that "struggled" was above average. When someone dominates though, it's expected for them to stay that way and anything less is a disappointment.
Packers fans have had to sit on his "struggles" for over a year now, and over that time, they have become exaggerated. While there's definitely plenty of room for improvement, Linsley is exactly who they should want at center in 2017.
