Lindstrom Signs With Dallas Cowboys as UDFA
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
In what ended up being one of the weirdest NFL Drafts in recent memory, Boston College center Alec Lindstrom didn't end up hearing his name called.
Lindstrom wasn't expected to fall out of the draft. In fact, he was projected by several outlets to be an early Day Three selection.
The Dudley, Massachusetts, native did, however, quickly sign with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent Saturday night.
Lindstrom, a former two-star recruit from Shepard Hill Regional, is one of five BC players to ever earn multiple All-ACC first-team honors. He also was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation's best center, in 2021.
Lindstrom's older brother, Chris, was taken 14th overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2019. At the time, he was BC's first opening-round pick since Luke Kuechly in 2012.
Alec Lindstrom posted his highest Pro Football Focus offensive grade (73.4) of his Eagles career in 2021. He was a better pass blocker (84.6) than he was a run blocker (68.4), per PFF’s standards at least. His PFF pass blocking grade was seventh among all centers. And he allowed just one sack and seven pressures.
That said, Lindstrom was penalized four times, and he botched a few snaps, including a mistimed shotgun delivery at Clemson that resulted in the game-ending fumble.
He was, however, the centerpiece of an offensive line that improved significantly in the run game this season, even when the Eagles’ offense was practically one-dimensional without starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec. In the second year of offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.’s zone-run scheme, BC jumped from 118th to 61st in rushing offense.
Lindstrom and Co. helped running back Pat Garwo III become the 19th Eagle to eclipse 1,000 yards on the ground.
Lindstrom was one of three Eagles invited to his year's NFL Combine. He followed up the East-West Shrine Bowl by ranking tied for eighth among all combine-participating offensive linemen in the bench press (25 reps), tied for 12th in the vertical (29 inches), tied for 10th in the broad jump (9 feet, 3 inches), ninth in the three-cone (7.50) and 16th in the 20-yard shuttle (4.66).
While his older brother had a very different start to his NFL career, the younger Lindstrom is also getting a shot to prove his worth at the next level.
Just not in the way he or, most for that matter, anticipated.
