NFL Draft
3/14/25
5 min read
Cody Lindenberg 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Minnesota Golden Gophers LB
Height: 6020 (verified)
Weight: 236lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Tyler Matakevich
Scouting Overview
Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker Cody Lindenberg projects as a developmental starter at the NFL level. He boasts sufficient athleticism and enjoyed a productive 2024 season to cap an inconsistent career with the Gophers.
Injuries cost him two-thirds of two seasons in 2021 and 2023, but he came into form with his best work on his last call. He lacks high-end athletic appeal to play with supreme range but appears to have good eyes and sufficient size to play on the second level. Lindenberg is a sufficient-level athlete who, with the right pieces around him, could step in off-ball and play an elevated role.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Showcases good initial play diagnosis ability to scrape and relate to the ball
- Takes good angles out of his read steps to ensure he’s well-aligned to challenge ball carriers
- Offers good size to offer thud and stonewall ball carriers at first contact
Negatives
- Lacks juice and second gear to play sideline to sideline against perimeter runs
- Showcases some tightness in hips for transitions into zone drops that will compound in man-to-man
- Lacks take on punch power to break down and deconstruct climbing OL consistently
Background
Lindenberg is from Anoka, MN, and played high school football for Anoka Senior HS. There, he was a 3-star recruit with modest FBS attention. He collected offers from notable FCS programs like South Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and North Dakota before committing to Minnesota as a member of its 2020 recruiting class.
Lindenberg played in six games during the 2020 season, retaining his four years of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He redshirted in 2021 after playing in just three games due to injury. He returned to play 13 games in 2022 as an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Conference selection in 2022 but then had his first season as a full-time starter cut short in 2023 due to another injury; he started just four games and missed the rest.
Lindenberg was productive in 2024, starting 12 games and being named First Team All-Big Ten for his performance before accepting an invitation to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl. He reportedly had surgery in December for a sports hernia repair.
Tale Of The Tape
Lindenberg’s path to the NFL has been frustrating because of a number of interruptions to his consistent playing time. The injuries in 2021 and 2023 have cut down on his on-field resume, although they have not appeared to hinder his play processing and football intelligence.
As a stack linebacker, Lindenberg offers the right build to play in traffic and hold his own. He provides sufficient length to play at the fringes of blocks, and one of his most consistent qualities is being decisive and correct on how to address blocks. He takes good angles to defeat them in lateral situations but is opportunistic with his decision-making to run underneath and gamble for more aggressive plays on the football.
Lindenberg’s length makes for a sufficient tackle radius when challenging ball carriers, but he’s more of a wrap finisher than a violent striker. As a result, more dynamic ball carriers can test him, and he sports an ugly 17.2 percent career missed tackle rate. He deserves credit, however, as his fifth season of play was his best; he posted a 13.1 percent missed tackle rate in 2024.
Lindenberg’s ability to finish challenges is tested not only by his striking ability but also by his short-area mirror skills and the ability to flash in space with reactive quickness. He is not functionally a quick-twitch player and, as a result, can be out of position at first contact if he does not remain vigilant with his challenges.
As a coverage player, he’s better suited to fulfill zone responsibilities in basic underneath areas in the hook area or overtop of the football. He lacks the juice to run the seam in Tampa-2 opportunities, and if you mug him up into gaps and ask him to spot drop in pressure looks, he will have a hard time hitting his landmarks with consistency to take away throwing windows.
He did get his hands on a handful of passes in 2024, but the sustainability of this at the NFL level isn’t something that should come with a lot of confidence.
Transitionally, he isn’t particularly dynamic, which will create some challenges in man-to-man coverage opportunities against backs out of the backfield.
Lindenberg has more than 250 career special teams reps, including serving in a prominent role in his first three seasons with the Gophers. This may be his most direct pathway to not only playing time but also a roster spot after cutdowns.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Lindenberg profiles as a depth linebacker who could potentially contribute to special teams early on at the NFL level. He’s a modest athlete but offers the right physical stature and instinct to play to appropriate angles in pursuit of the ball carrier.
Grade: 68.00/100.00, Seventh Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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