Offensive lines are a critical, yet somewhat underlooked part of the fantasy football ecosystem. A good offensive line will turn a nasty front 4 defenders into Swiss cheese, opening up huge holes at the line of scrimmage for a running back or a QB to sneak through and gain critical fantasy points. A bad offensive line, meanwhile, can turn even the most dynamic runners into TFL accumulators and scare QBs into seeing ghosts. Given that offensive line play can dictate both the flow of the game and your hard-earned fantasy wins, it’s important to discuss which lines are going to help, hurt, or do nothing for your fantasy players’ prospects.
Metrics used include ESPN’s pass block and run block win rates, PFF’s pass/run block rates, PFF’s individual player grades for offensive linemen (using the “qualifying” cutoff of playing at least 20% of their team’s snaps in 2023) and Pro Football Reference’s pressure numbers. It is more difficult to judge line unit play with teams like the Bills and the Ravens, whose quarterbacks are heavily involved in the running game and/or hold onto the ball for longer to create better opportunities out of structure because many available stats depend on QB action, not line action. For example, QB sacks are an oft-cited stat that is both line-dependent and QB-dependent. QBs that hold the ball for longer, like Russell Wilson, are thus more likely to take a sack, even with stronger line play. So, pressure stats shouldn’t, by themselves, paint the full picture of offensive line play.
The lines are divided into tiers based on whether they will “help” or boost fantasy production, or “hurt” or detract from fantasy production. For example, if a line will “hurt” fantasy production, it means skill players’ projections should be adjusted for the fact that their offensive line will potentially take away fantasy-scoring opportunities. These teams are also not ranked within these tiers, so a team listed first in a tier doesn’t mean I have them inherently ranked higher than a team listed fourth in that tier, they are all grouped together in that tier.
Tier 1: Definitely Will Help Fantasy Production
Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles’ offense line was key to helping Jalen Hurts steal numerous 1-yard TDs from his running backs and facilitated another 1,000+ rushing yard season from an Eagles running back. This unit was ranked as the top unit in pass block and 3rd-best as a run blocking unit, per PFF. ESPN ranked them 7th in pass block win rate (PBWR) and 1st in run block win rate (RBWR) as well. They rank in this spot not because they are a lock for the very best line in football, but because they are the most reliable top-5 unit in football.
The key storyline with this Eagles line unit is the retirement of Jason Kelce. Kelce ranked 3rd among qualified centers in combined PFF run block/pass block grades and scored in the top 10 in PBWR and RBWR among interior offensive linemen (including guards). Kelce’s successor, Cam Jurgens, has been waiting in the wings since being drafted 51st overall in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Nebraska. Jurgens was the Eagles’ starting right guard for most of the season last year but didn’t really impress (38th among guards in combined PFF run block/pass block), so he’ll need to show improvement to take this group to the top. It’s worth noting that Jurgens played center at Nebraska for 3 years, so he is more familiar with the demands of the center position than he is with the guard position. Also, in free agency, Philadelphia picked up local kid and former Falcon Matt Hennessy to back up Jurgens; Hennessy adds some experience at center to the backup linemen group.
The other storyline worth noting with this Eagles line is Jurgens’ replacement at right guard. Jurgens will be sliding to center to replace Kelce, while former Jet Mekhi Becton likely takes over at right guard (stay tuned regarding Becton’s injury, though), as Becton appears to have won the guard job over in-house replacement Tyler Steen. Steen was horrendous in a limited run last season, while Becton has at least some chops as an NFL-caliber lineman (in 2020, he was excellent as both a pass and run blocker) and can provide higher-level play off the bat while Steen continues to learn.
Indianapolis Colts: There’s a big disconnect between the way ESPN’s PBWR/RBWR views this group and the way PFF views this group. By PBWR, the Colts were a bad pass-blocking team, finishing 26th, but a good run-blocking team (11th). PFF, meanwhile, views this unit as an unequivocal top-10 group–6th in pass-blocking, 7th in run-blocking. The Colts see this group as more of the latter, as they decided to run the same starting 5 back for another year. And, when 2 of their starters make the Pro Bowl, who can blame them? Analytics issues aside, this group should be a solid bet for the top 10 again, especially with each lineman still in their prime.
Chicago Bears: The Bears are primed to give Caleb Williams all the time he could want to pick apart opposing defenses. The Bears graded favorably under the ESPN metrics (5th in PBWR, 2nd in RBWR) but curiously fell to the bottom third of the league in both pass block and run block rankings by PFF’s grading system. It’s even more curious considering the Bears did a good job of alleviating QB hits, ranking in the top 3rd in QB hits allowed to opposing defenses. And, running backs in the Bears’ offense accumulated the third-most yards per attempt before first contact. Despite the PFF doom and gloom, the Bears were surprisingly good at creating passing and running opportunities for their offensive personnel, which bodes well for the next generation of Bears skill players.
The biggest recent development is that LG Teven Jenkins dramatically improved throughout the 2023 season; he missed the first four weeks of 2023 but turned into a Top-5 run blocker by RBWR by the time all was said and done. He is locked in as the team’s left guard, per ESPN’s depth chart, for 2024, which should continue to elevate this unit’s play.
The other major change to the line heading into 2024 is the replacement of center Lucas Patrick, who started 15 games for Chicago, with former Buffalo guard Ryan Bates taking his place. Bates didn’t play much at center in 2023, accumulating just 35 snaps at the position across 6 games. But, he has played 15+ games in each of the last 4 seasons at guard, and if that trend holds true in 2024, Bates can gel with the rest of the unit and improve as the season progresses. The good news for Bates is that his predecessor wasn’t particularly good, leaving Bates nowhere to go but up. Per PFF, Patrick’s combined pass/run block rating placed him as one of the worst centers in football.
The rest of the line will carry over from 2023, making the Bears a safe bet to augment Caleb Williams’ passing production and provide plenty of room for D’Andre Swift to find running lanes, assuming no significant steps back in play from any of the starters. This is a particularly young group, with no starter over the age of 27, so there shouldn’t be any age-related steps back in their play.
Detroit Lions: The Lions have turned their line into a strength over the past few years, allowing Jared Goff and Co. the time to pick apart opposing defenses. They don’t grade out particularly well in terms of alleviating pressure rate or producing tons of rushing yardage before contact, as both stats put them solidly in the middle of the pack, but they’re statistically sound (13th PBWR, 13th RBWR, 9th in PFF’s pass-blocking, and 2nd in run-blocking) and a fun group to watch. Their major change this offseason was replacing LG Jonah Jackson with Kevin Zeitler, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens. Zeitler, who was named to the 2023-24 Pro Bowl roster, was one of the 10-best offensive linemen by PFF’s pass-blocking metric. He was also an adequate run blocker, per PFF’s grades, while Jackson was not good enough to be either of those things (126th of 217 qualified linemen in overall PFF grade). Zeitler is unquestionably an upgrade over Jackson, though he is getting a little long in the tooth, at 34 years old, and carries a bit more injury risk.
Even without Zeitler, this group carries several superb athletes, including Penei Sewell, Graham Glasgow, and Taylor Decker. The addition of Zeitler, however, should eliminate a particularly weak link in an otherwise strong chain and should give the Lions even better pass protection this season.
Denver Broncos: The QB play was abysmal last season, but it wasn’t for lack of production up front, as the Broncos graded out rather favorably as run (3rd in RBWR, 4th under PFF) and pass blockers (8th, 5th). Like the Bears’ line, Denver gave its QBs plenty of time to throw.
The starting group remains the same, except center Lloyd Cushenberry III is no longer with the team. He’ll be replaced by Luke Wattenberg, who was drafted by the Broncos in 2022. Cushenberry was a strong pass blocker, ranking in the top 20 among interior OL in PBWR and 31st in PFF’s pass-blocking among all linemen, so Wattenberg will have big shoes to fill. He didn’t see enough work to trust his PFF grade (just 39 snaps), so he’s a fairly unknown quantity heading into the season. However, the rest of the group is still fairly strong across the board, with Garrett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, and Quinn Meinerz bringing some serious punch, statistically and through name recognition, up front. LG Ben Powers was mediocre last season (110th among 217 qualified linemen), but has shown better pass-blocking chops in previous seasons, so Powers could see a bit of a bounceback as well. There’s more than enough talent to make up for Wattenberg’s uncertainty; it’s fair to pencil the Broncos in as a top-ten unit again this year.
Tier 2: A Few Question Marks, But Will Probably Help
Buffalo Bills: Buffalo won in the trenches last year from both a pass-blocking (6th in PBWR, 11th in PFF’s pass-blocking) and a run-blocking perspective (7th, 16th). They gave their RBs yardage before contact on each attempt (top 10) and prevented Josh Allen from being pressured too much (top third).
Allen should enjoy strong line play again this season, as the Bills haven’t made significant changes to the group up front. 4 of the 5 starters remain the same, including LT and Pro Bowler Dion Dawkins, and each of the returning starters started 17 games for the Bills last year. Accordingly, this group has a nice foundation on which it can continue to build. The question mark with this group is the replacement of longtime center Mitch Morse. Now with the Jaguars, Morse spent 5 years centering the Bills’ line, adding stability and solid up-front play. Morse will be replaced by former LG Connor McGovern, who graded out favorably as a pass blocker last season but was abysmal as a run blocker. The potential downgrade from Morse to McGovern, who has not played center as a pro, should be a minor concern for managers investing in the Bills’ running game.
While this situation somewhat mirrors the Eagles’ change from Kelce to Jurgens, the Bills don’t have the benefit of starting three Pro Bowl-caliber linemen alongside their new center. 2023 rookie RG O’Cyrus Torrence was more harmful than helpful last year, ranking as the 11th-worst G by overall PFF grade. Torrence didn’t improve as the season progressed, posting roughly similar grades each week. Meanwhile, the Bills will replace McGovern at LG with either David Edwards or La’el Collins. Edwards was the 6th lineman for the Bills last season and, while he graded out quite favorably as a blocker, played only 148 offensive snaps. As a starting guard with the Rams in 2020 and 2021, Edwards was slightly above average, though Edwards hasn’t started since 2021. Now, he must produce that same play for 6 or 7 times as many snaps.
Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson and Co. undoubtedly benefitted from strong offensive line play last season, as the Ravens graded out well by pretty much any metric available. Granted, Jackson’s elusiveness and the Ravens’ QB-run-oriented offense certainly helps alleviate some of those blown blocks, but Baltimore was still one of the best units up front. However, they are poised for at least a slight step back this season, especially when Jackson drops back to pass. Gone is Morgan Moses, Baltimore’s RT, who was in the top 20 in PBWR among OTs. Gone is RG Kevin Zeitler, who is now with the Lions (see above).
The Ravens have been following a succession plan for the last few years, including replacements for Moses and Zeitler, drafting Daniel Faalele in the 4th round of the 2022 draft, Andrew Vorhees in the 7th round of the 2023 draft, and then grabbing Roger Rosengarten in the 2nd round in 2024. However, the benefit of getting strong play from the guys the Ravens are trying to replace is that these three have virtually no NFL experience, and are now being asked to step into full-time roles for a team with high expectations. Vorhees tore his ACL during the 2023 Draft Combine and has yet to play a snap in the NFL regular season. Faalele, meanwhile, has been developing for the last two seasons and has played just 356 snaps in that period. Rosengarten is a rookie, which means his play will vary from week to week as he adjusts to the NFL’s superior speed and strength. Rosengarten also appears to have won the starting RT job over Patrick Mekari at this point, but the Ravens could go with Mekari for his NFL experience in the early going. Mekari, however, has not graded well by PFF’s blocking metrics lately, and may not be a suitable blocker for the Ravens.
There will be plenty of ups and downs for this relatively inexperienced offensive line, but the Ravens deserve the benefit of the doubt since they’ve consistently gotten high-caliber play from their line in years past. They also return young standout Tyler Linderbaum, who has been excellent as a Raven essentially from the jump. Ronnie Stanley, the other returner, has been good in years past but didn’t exactly look like his Pro Bowl ceiling last season (below average as a blocker, per PFF), and hasn’t been to the Pro Bowl since 2019. If Stanley — who will be 30 for all of the 2024-25 season — can return to his above-average play and Linderbaum continues to dominate up front, the Ravens have at least the beginnings of a strong offensive line. Whether they approach last year’s heights depends on whether their young core can step up quickly.
Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons made essentially zero changes to their offensive line this offseason, which was probably for the best. While this unit didn’t grade particularly well by ESPN’s RBWR (28th), the rest of their metrics look particularly sound, as they ranked 11th in PBWR, 3rd in PFF’s pass-blocking, and 6th in PFF’s run-blocking. They were also in the top half of the league in alleviating pressure. The group returns all of its starters from last season, with the only “old” guy being 32-year-old LT Jake Matthews. With the line’s strong pass-blocking acumen, Kirk Cousins should have plenty of time to throw behind them. To ascend further, the Falcons will need a bit more from second-year LG Matthew Bergeron, who was a tad underwhelming last season (132nd of 217 qualified linemen).
Tier 3: Good at One Type of Blocking, Not Good at the Other
Kansas City Chiefs: KC brings back everyone from last year’s starting line except LT Donovan Smith, which is good news for Chiefs fans and fantasy investors alike. ESPN’s metrics were thrilled with this unit from a pass-blocking standpoint, as all 5 linemen placed in the top 20 of their respective positions (interior/exterior OL) in PBWR. Their superb pass-blocking led them to the #1 ranking as a unit in PBWR, which is all you can ask for with Patrick Mahomes under center. Smith may not have graded particularly well in PFF’s system, hence the discrepancy between KC’s ESPN grade and its PFF grade (8th as a unit in pass-blocking), but with Smith no longer in the picture, perhaps the line will be viewed more favorably this season.Smith will be replaced at LT by Kingsley Suamataia, the rookie out of BYU, who is related to both Penei Sewell and Puka Nacua. It’s hard to trust a rookie to protect your star QB’s blind side, no matter how successful the team’s scouting has been in years past. However, the rest of this line is still relatively young — except Joe Thuney, each starter is under 27 years old — meaning this group isn’t likely to see an age-based performance drop-off in the next few seasons.
KC was still below average as blockers for the running game (20th in RBWR, 18th in PFF), though they were able to keep rushing yardage before first contact up (4th-best). It doesn’t look like they’ll bump Isiah Pacheco’s production up a notch, but they won’t harm him, either. The lack of run-blocking chops keeps this unit in tier 2 despite their prolific pass-blocking.
Green Bay Packers: Green Bay’s performance was eerily similar to KC’s last season, as the Pack finished 2nd in PBWR (7th by PFF) and 16th in RBWR (22nd). GB, meanwhile, brings back everyone from last year’s starting line except RG Jon Runyan Jr. Runyan had strong pass-blocking chops (top 20 in PBWR among interior linemen, 97th by PFF grade) but was graded as a poor run-blocker, so the Packers are counting on first-round pick and rookie RG Jordan Morgan, a guy with two first names, to have similar pass-blocking chops. Unlike the Chiefs, however, Green Bay doesn’t have to worry about Morgan slotting in at the crucial position of left tackle and can bring him along a little more slowly than the Chiefs can with Suamataia.
The Packers still have four starters who ranked in the top 20 in PBWR in Josh Myers, Elgton Jenkins, Zach Tom, and Rasheed Walker, so QB Jordan Love will have plenty of time behind the line of scrimmage to pick apart defenses and continue to develop as the next great Green Bay passer. Josh Jacobs, meanwhile, will be behind a slightly better line in GB than he was with the Raiders (moving from 18th in RBWR to 16th), but there’s not enough of an improvement for Jacobs to get a huge bump in fantasy production.
San Francisco 49ers: The Niners fit the total opposite mold of the Chiefs and Packers in that they focus on run-blocking skills much more than they do pass-blocking. There was a strong discrepancy between the Niners’ ESPN ratings (20th in PBWR and 23rd in RBWR) and their PFF ratings (26th in pass-blocking, 1st in run-blocking), but it seems fair to say that the Niners are a strong run-blocking squad, given their continued success with a run-oriented scheme under HC Kyle Shanahan. The starting linemen for this squad are solid run-blockers, including Trent Williams (3rd in PFF’s run-blocking), Colton McKivitz (62nd), Jake Brendel (54th), and Jon Feliciano (12th, though he played only 478 snaps). Their weak link is LG Aaron Banks, who was bad as both a pass-blocker (152nd) and run-blocker (157th) last season. Banks was better in 2022, but not so much better that his 2023 was a dramatic step down in his performance; he probably will be somewhere in between his 2022 and 2023 numbers again this season. The other newcomer here is projected RG Dominick Puni, thanks to Jon Feliciano’s knee injury. Puni was a 3rd-round pick this year, so he’s an unknown quantity, but star LB Fred Warner was reportedly “impressed” with Puni’s play, so that’s something!
Other things of note with the Niners: Banks underwent pinky surgery last week, while Trent Williams is currently holding out and has yet to report to training camp. Assuming they both report, however, the Niners should fit comfortably into the “meh” category of offensive line units. They’ll be a pretty good run-blocking unit, but they won’t be particularly notable in traditional pass-blocking situations.
Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals are loaded with a great passer and several high-end receivers, yet their offensive line performed better as a run-blocking unit (9th in RBWR, 23rd in PFF’s run-blocking) than they did as pass-blockers (27th in PBWR, 22nd in pass-blocking). Not much has changed from 2023 to 2024 with the personnel, as the only change was letting RT Jonah Williams walk in free agency. LG Cordell Volson, C Ted Karras, and RG Alex Cappa remain the starters and were all above-average run blockers last season. LT Orlando Brown Jr. had an up-and-down season last year, but his body of work — 4 other full seasons with much better numbers — suggests that 2023 was a down year/exception, and he should be much stronger as a run blocker in 2024 as well.
Williams was mediocre both as a pass-blocker and run-blocker (135th overall, 136th in pass-blocking), and will be replaced by first-rounder and 2024 Draft pick Amarius Mims, who might be the most athletic football player on the planet. Mims is out for a few weeks with a strained pectoral muscle, so he probably won’t be starting in the first few weeks of the season. In his stead will be Trent Brown, the former Patriots tackle, who was a strong blocker last season in limited work. Brown is 31, so he’s approaching the age at which one might expect a little performance decline, but he has been a serviceable blocker for the past 6 years, especially in passing situations. He should be an upgrade over Williams for the time being. This unit should remain solid as a run-blocking unit, but they haven’t erased any concerns about protecting QB Joe Burrow heading into the year.
Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins, like the 49ers, seem to be a stronger run-blocking unit (8th in RBWR, 18th in PFF’s run block) than they were as a pass-blocking unit (31st, 16th). That’s not particularly surprising, given the coaching tree connection between Kyle Shanahan in SF and Mike McDaniel in Miami and their similar playstyles. The offensive line has changed a bit since we last saw them play meaningful football, as Robert Hunt is now with Carolina. Hunt will be replaced from within by Robert Jones (116th of 217). Former Titan Aaron Brewer (54th of 217) now takes over as the Dolphins’ starting center, as Connor Williams is now in Seattle. Williams will be sorely missed, as he was one of the best centers in football last season when healthy (5th of 217). Outside of Williams, however, this is a good group. Armstead was one of the top 20 blockers in football last season, RT Austin Jackson was comfortably above average last year, and Brewer was strong for the Titans last year.
The concern with this line, other than replacing Williams and Hunt, is that this unit struggled to stay healthy last season. Isaiah Wynn, who is expected to be the team’s starting LG when healthy, missed the second half of 2023 after suffering a quad injury. Terron Armstead was constantly on Miami’s injury report and missed 7 games. Aaron Brewer has already suffered injuries in training camp this season. Liam Eichenberg, who is both Brewer and Wynn’s backup at this point due to his familiarity with the offense, was injured for much of last season as well. Injuries are a part of football, but when the whole offensive line can’t stay healthy, it does not bode well for offensive success or QB Tua Tagovailoa‘s health.
Los Angeles Rams: The Rams bring back 4 of their 5 starters from last season, with only C Coleman Shelton departing from last year’s starting lineup. LG Steve Avila slides over to Center, while the newly acquired Jonah Jackson slots in at LG. Last year, this group wasn’t great at pass-blocking (21st in PBWR, 20th in PFF’s pass-blocking) but they were a solid run-blocking unit (14th, 5th), which checks out when you consider that HC Sean McVay’s offense is similar to Kyle Shanahan’s offense in SF and Mike McDaniel’s offense in Miami. The move over to center to replace Shelton might be difficult for Avila at first, given that Avila played LG for all 17 games last year and is now being asked to play his second position in as many years, but Avila’s natural position in college was center, which should help the transition a little.
This group is on the younger side, so there’s still room for improvement with guys like Avila, LT Alaric Jackson, and RG Kevin Dotson. However, one fact that should give fans caution is that Shelton was a good run-blocker (41st of 217) and neither Avila (151st) nor Jackson (131st) have graded particularly well as run-blockers so far. I assume the Rams will be able to figure it out, given their recent success in developing linemen, but there could be some frustrating missed blocks here and there that might hinder Kyren Williams and/or Blake Corum.
Tier 4: Won’t Help, Won’t Hurt
Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings are another team with strong pass-blocking chops but weaker run-blocking skills, as Minnesota placed 3rd in PBWR and 19th in RBWR. The Vikings went all the way up to 2nd in PFF’s pass-blocking, just behind the Eagles, and that checks out when you look at their two offensive tackles: LT Christian Darrisaw (12th overall by PFF, 3rd-best pass-blocker among all qualified linemen) and RT Brian O’Neill (40th overall, 43rd in pass-blocking, 3rd-best OT PBWR). Those two will once again anchor the line and provide strong play at some of the most important positions on the line. Their other returners, C Garrett Bradbury and RG Ed Ingram were adequate (116th and 129th, respectively, by PFF grade) last season, and their bodies of work suggest that they were right in line with their career-average grades last season, so the Vikings probably won’t be seeing a massive uptick in either’s performance.
The Vikings will be hurt by the loss of Dalton Risner, who was 9th among interior linemen in PBWR. Risner will be replaced internally by Blake Brandel, who has very little experience as a blocker (just 163 snaps in 2023-24), so the Vikings will need Brandel to step up quickly to keep their pass-blocking as effective as in 2023. Minnesota allowed a high percentage of pressure in 2023-24, with the third-highest pressure % in football, and that was with Risner’s strong pass-blocking acumen.
In all, the Vikings seem least likely to return to their strong pass-blocking chops of 2023, especially since the other two teams with these types of splits have a stronger statistical foundation for their performances (e.g., respect from both ESPN and PFF’s grading systems). Accordingly, I wouldn’t be too excited about stronger protection for QB Sam Darnold.
Cleveland Browns: The Browns were a strong pass-blocking group (4th in PBWR) but were dramatically worse as a run-blocking group than the Vikings, Packers, or Chiefs, ranking 26th in RBWR and 21st in PFF’s run-blocking metric. Curiously, there was a big discrepancy between ESPN’s PBWR and PFF’s pass-blocking score, where the Browns fell to 18th.
The difficulty in grading the Browns for this season is that there are numerous injuries to track with this group heading into 2024. Neither LT Jedrick Wills Jr. nor RT Jack Conklin have practiced lately, and both are on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list at the moment. Their line depth continues to take hits early this season, as several backup linemen have also suffered injuries in recent games. When healthy, this is still a strong pass-blocking group, with Wills, LG Joel Bitonio, and C Ethan Pocic all standing out in ESPN’s PBWR metric. RG Wyatt Teller is also a solid blocker, ranking 46th overall (39th as a run-blocker, 5th as a pass-blocker) among linemen by PFF grade. Even when healthy, though, their running game leaves a lot to be desired, which adds another factor cutting against star RB Nick Chubb as Chubb tries to rehab from season-ending ACL and MCL injuries.
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have long been known for their excellent blockers up front, including last year, where they scored well as a run-blocking unit (4th in RBWR, 11th in PFF’s run-blocking) and average as a pass-blocking group (16th in PBWR, 14th in PFF’s pass-blocking), though this year’s group doesn’t seem to compare well to previous iterations because mainstay Tyron Smith is no longer with the team, and there’s more unproven talent along the line than usual. Smith has since moved to the Jets, and Dallas will replace him with rookie Tyler Guyton, out of Oklahoma. According to reports out of camp and preseason games, Guyton has impressed thus far, so Dallas may have found itself another strong lineman up front. Until we see Guyton in regular season play, however, it’s hard to trust a rookie to bring the level of play that Smith brought to this team for years.
The Cowboys are also relying on an internal replacement, Brock Hoffman, to fill the hole left by center Tyler Biadasz‘s departure (now with the Commanders). Hoffman is also an unknown quantity, as he was on the Cowboys’ practice squad for most of last season, though he did start in place of Biadasz once and in place of Zack Martin once in 2023.
Dallas also opted not to replace RT Terence Steele, who was terrible last year (179th of 217 qualified linemen), which is curious considering Steele has provided just one season of above-average work on the Cowboys’ line in his four years with the team. This year is critical for Steele in showing that his strong 2022 was not a flash in the pan and was instead evidence of a legitimate breakout.
However, between the unknown quantities in Guyton and Hoffman, Steele’s underwhelming track record, and Zack Martin now into his mid-30s, the Cowboys simply have too many questions to answer heading into the season for this unit to be considered a legitimate strength, but they have a positive track record in developing linemen, so the unit won’t actively hurt the offense.
Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks underwent a significant offensive line overhaul a few seasons ago, and Seattle is still waiting for that overhaul to really bear great fruit. Unfortunately, they’ll probably be waiting a little longer, given the state of the line last year (25th in PBWR, 28th in pass-blocking, 17th in RBWR, 15th in run-blocking) and the lack of encouraging signs heading into this year. The Seahawks decided to speed up their line rebuild a bit by bringing in Connor Williams from Miami, who was excellent as the Dolphins’ center when healthy, and Laken Tomlinson, who is projected to start at LG this season. Tomlinson was below average last season with the Jets, ranking 154th out of 217 qualified linemen in overall blocking skill, and is at the age where performance starts to decline (32), so it’s possible he won’t bounce back to where he was with the 49ers a few years ago.
Seattle still has LT Charles Cross (73rd), who has come into his own over the past two seasons and could improve further this season, and RG Anthony Bradford (174th) returning from last year’s team. Ideally, Seattle gets RT Abraham Lucas (165th) back soon, but it’s looking like he’ll miss the start of the season, as he’s yet to be activated off the PUP list after weeks of training camp. The Seahawks brought in George Fant to back up Lucas, and given Fant’s performance last year (100th), he should be able to provide adequate blocking on the right side until Lucas returns.
Including its 3 returning starters (Lucas too), Seattle is starting exactly two top-100 linemen. The rest of the group poses big question marks in health and performance, so Seattle’s skill players probably aren’t getting extra help up front this year.
Washington Commanders: The Commanders were bad at a lot of things last year, but their line play was passable from both a pass (14th in PBWR, 15th in PFF’s pass-blocking) and run-blocking (22nd, 9th) standpoint. With a young quarterback, Jayden Daniels, who bails from the pocket easily, the Commanders must maintain that level of play to keep Daniels’ development on track and prevent him from taking more hits than he’s already going to be trying to take. The Commanders are keeping the right side of their line the same, with RG Sam Cosmi (19th overall lineman in 2023 by PFF grade) and RT Andrew Wylie (64th) returning from last year’s squad. C Nick Gates (84th) has departed and will be replaced by former Cowboy Tyler Biadasz (67th), who is following Dan Quinn from Dallas to Landover. Last year’s LG Saahdiq Charles left the Commanders in free agency to sign with the Titans, only for Charles to retire just a few weeks ago in the midst of training camp. Charles will be replaced by Nick Allegretti, who has won 3 Super Bowls and appeared in 74 games but started only 13 in his entire career. He’s played 25% or more of his team’s snaps in a season just twice (2020, 2022), but wasn’t particularly good the last time he saw that much action (183rd of 216 qualified linemen in 2022). Finally, LT Charles Leno Jr. was cut by the Commanders this offseason — though he graded out fairly well by PFF’s overall score, placing 49th of 217 linemen — and will be replaced by third-round pick Brandon Coleman.
There’s lots of turnover with this offensive line, with only two starters returning from last year’s squad. The two unknowns of Allegretti and Coleman don’t inspire much confidence, but the three other linemen have solid track records as blockers and will provide a competent floor for this offensive line while Allegretti and Coleman get used to their surroundings and gel with the rest of the unit.
Houston Texans: The Texans enter this season with sky-high expectations thanks to upgrades at skill positions, though they could have probably used an upgrade or two up front to complement their other changes. Houston was fine as a unit last year (10th in PBWR, 19th in PFF’s pass-blocking, 25th in RBWR, 20th in run-blocking), but made only minor changes. The Texans replaced C Michael Deiter, who started 10 games last season, from within by appointing the awesomely-named Juice Scruggs as the new starting center. In limited work last season (439 snaps), Scruggs — a rookie — placed 176th of 217 linemen overall and was a poor pass-blocker in that limited time. If Scruggs’ numbers stay the same in 2024, he’d be a slight downgrade from Deiter. though now that Scruggs has a bit of seasoning on him, he can hopefully improve on his previous performance.
The other “newcomer” is projected LG Kenyon Green, who was drafted in 2022 by the Texans, though he has battled injuries for the last two seasons and didn’t play at all in 2023. He played nearly a full season for the Texans in 2022 and was atrocious (213th of 216 eligible linemen) that season, so I think I can guess one of Houston’s 11:11 wishes for this season. Green will have quite the uphill battle to hold onto that starting LG spot, and if he’s the best they have, the Texans might be in trouble.
The rest of Houston’s line isn’t exactly filled with world-beaters, either. Laremy Tunsil is still excellent as a blocker (44th overall), particularly as a pass-blocker (2nd), but that’s where the good times end. Projected RG Shaq Mason is slightly above average (80th overall). While RT Tytus Howard was terrible last season (195th overall, 200th-ranked pass-blocker), his body of work suggests he won’t be quite as bad this season, barring more injuries, but even his best season wouldn’t exactly light the NFL on fire, either.
This group doesn’t have a ton of positive news going for it right now, outside of Tunsil, and it seems like the Texans’ offseason plan was to simply cross their fingers and hope for improvement from a couple of guys. There are too many question marks with this group to consider it clearly passable, let alone a strength.
New England Patriots: The Pats had a dramatic split in favor of their run-blocking last season, finishing dead last in pass-blocking metrics (32nd in PBWR, 29th in pass-blocking) and above average as a run-blocking unit (10th, 12th). They’ll be due for some regression in the run-blocking success this season, now that they’re losing Trent Brown to the Bengals. Brown will be replaced by third-round draft pick Caedan Wallace, and protecting a QB’s blind side is a big step for any rookie to make, let alone one that fell to 70th overall. Meanwhile, RG Cole Strange (93rd of 217) is on the PUP list and is expected to miss the start of the season due to a knee injury, so Sidy Sow (96th), a person I did not know existed until starting my research for this piece, will take over.
The Patriots also had to use several linemen last season to fill that RT spot, so they brought in Chukwuma Okorafor from the Steelers to man the position. Okorafor was decent (119th) in a limited, 436-snap sample, but he’s already an upgrade over some of the players the Pats had to start there last year, like Atonio Mafi (216th) and Vederian Lowe (209th). Accordingly, the Patriots will only have two returners from last year’s line ready for Week 1, David Andrews (57th) and Mike Onwenu (53rd). With Andrews and Onwenu providing veteran leadership and Okorafor adding stability on the right end, the Patriots should be passable as a unit, though I expect their injuries and inexperience to cause their run-blocking to negatively regress.
Arizona Cardinals: Arizona enters the year with high expectations for their passing unit, though they didn’t spend much capital trying to facilitate that growth up front. Last year’s unit finished with the 19th-ranked PBWR and the 6th-ranked RBWR, but the Cardinals made only marginal improvements to this group. Gone is LT D.J. Humphries, who started 15 games for the Cardinals and was decent as a pass-blocker (105th of 217 overall, 67th in pass-blocking). Humphries is projected to be replaced by second-year and former RT Paris Johnson Jr. Johnson was slightly below average overall (124th), but will now be asked to switch to an even more important position on the line in his second year in the league, which doesn’t really inspire confidence. The other returning starters, RG Will Hernandez and C Hjalte Froholdt, were adequate but not spectacular, placing 82nd and 98th among linemen in overall blocking, respectively.
Arizona also has two newcomers to the line, projected LG Evan Brown and projected RT Jonah Williams. Brown graded out poorly as a center with Seattle last season (151st of 217), but was slightly better (roughly average) as a RG in Detroit in 2022, so Arizona will be counting on Brown to reclaim that form. It can’t get much worse than last year’s starting LG Elijah Wilkinson (199th of 217), so Brown will be a minor step up (151st), even if he doesn’t reclaim his form from Detroit. Williams, meanwhile, will slot into Johnson Jr.’s former slot at RT. Williams was mediocre both as a pass-blocker and run-blocker (135th overall, 136th in pass-blocking), so it’s hard to see where this unit has improved from last year’s squad. If they could recreate last year’s numbers, Trey Benson and James Conner would see a nice little bump in production, but it seems like this unit will fall back down to earth a little bit, given that they don’t have the grades to back up last year’s success.
Tier 5: Could Hurt Fantasy Production
Los Angeles Chargers: The Chargers were decent as a pass-blocking unit (18th in PBWR, 13th in PFF’s pass-blocking) but really struggled to block for its running backs (24th in RBWR, 32nd in PFF’s run-blocking). This year, they return 3 of their 5 starters, including LT Rashawn Slater, LG Zion Johnson, and RT (now projected RG) Trey Pipkins III. All three are better pass blockers by PFF grading (Slater was 4th among all qualified linemen in pass-blocking) than they are run blockers and have been throughout their careers, so presumably the Chargers will adequately protect Justin Herbert this year.
The newcomers for this Chargers unit will probably be significant upgrades over their predecessors. Joe Alt was drafted 5th overall by the Chargers in the 2024 draft and has reportedly played quite well in the preseason. He replaces Pipkins at right tackle, and Pipkins will be sliding over to RG to replace Jamaree Salyer, who is now Pipkins’ projected backup. Salyer, like the rest of the line, was passable as a pass-blocker, but he was even worse as a run-blocker last year. Alt — with the caveats about rookie variance still in place here — is probably going to be a better fit on the right side of the line than Salyer was last year, which should help that side of the line create some running room for the Chargers’ new backs. The other newcomer, Bradley Bozeman, has some name recognition from his time with the Baltimore Ravens but was nothing special in 2022 and 2023 in Carolina. Even if he plays at the same level in LA as he did in Carolina (107th of 217), it will still be an upgrade over the Chargers’ prior center, Will Clapp, who was abysmal as both run and pass-blocker (144th out of 217). Bozeman is the rare Chargers lineman who grades out more favorably as a run-blocker than as a pass-blocker, per PFF, so perhaps he can teach the rest of the line some of his running tricks.
Bottom line: This group should be fine as a pass-protecting unit, so there shouldn’t be any concerns about Herbert “running for his life” on every snap, but the lack of run-blocking chops could actively hurt the production of Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Kimani Vidal.
Pittsburgh Steelers: This was a decent unit in 2023, placing right around average as both a pass and run-blocking unit, per both ESPN and PFF. The Steelers, recognizing a need to get a little younger up front, drafted RT Troy Fautanu in the first round and C Zach Frazier in the second round. The rest of the unit remains the same, with Isaac Seumalo (52nd) sticking at LG, James Daniels at RG (108th), and former RT Broderick Jones (118th) moving across the line to play LT. The big concerns with this Steelers line are the unknown quantities in Fautanu and Frazier, firstly, but also that Jones was mediocre at RT and now moves to a slightly more important position on the line. Pittsburgh is placing a lot of faith in Jones, a second-year player, take big steps. Finally, Pittsburgh is already dealing with a litany of injuries to the aforementioned players. Jones has been awful this preseason but is dealing with an elbow injury that has forced him to play with a brace so far. Fautanu, meanwhile, suffered a sprained MCL in the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s season opener. Fautanu intends to be ready for the regular season opener, but he’ll likely be at less than one hundred percent for that contest.
Given that only Seumalo has performed above average, while the rest of the line has some question marks, it’s fair to think that the Steelers’ line will take a step back as both pass and run blockers, which could actively hurt rushing performances from Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris. And, with two already sack-happy QBs in Justin Fields and Russell Wilson under center for the Steelers, a leaky offensive line could lead to a ton of negative plays and behind-the-sticks drives for the offense.
Carolina Panthers: The Panthers were not good at either type of blocking last season, which is part of the reason why QB Bryce Young was sacked so many times (65, tied for second-most in the NFL). This year, Carolina brought in several fresh faces to try to protect its investment in Young. Last season, Carolina had the misfortune of starting rookie LG Chandler Zavala (208th of 217) for 7 games, RG/LG Nash Jensen for a couple of games (216th), and RG Austin Corbett for 4 games (175th), to try to fill in the gaps created by various injuries to other starting linemen. This year, assuming better health, only Corbett will see the field much, as he’s the projected starting center for this line. Corbett performed much better in 2022 as a member of this same Panthers squad — and played at roughly that same level in 2020 and 2021 — so it’s reasonable to expect a little positive regression for Corbett in 2024.
The Panthers should also get a nice step up in play from Zavala and the carousel of RGs, as they brought in Robert Hunt from the Dolphins to anchor their RG spot for the foreseeable future. Hunt battled injuries in 2023, struggling to stay on the field, but when healthy, he was excellent, ranking as PFF’s 30th overall lineman. If Hunt can’t stay healthy, then the projected backup is Brady Christensen, who was below-average as a starter in 2022, but wasn’t Zavala-level bad. Carolina’s other new face is projected LG Damien Lewis, who was fine (127th) in Seattle. Lewis has been very inconsistent in the NFL, with some strong seasons in 2020 and 2022 but “meh” seasons in 2021 and 2023–so maybe he’s due. Regardless, Lewis will bring minimum competency to the position in 2024.
With these new faces, along with hopefully some better health, the Panthers’ line should be at regular levels of bad or slightly below average, not outright horrendous, as it was in 2023.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: One of the surprise late-blooming teams last year, the Bucs were able to survive a generally poor offensive line to make the playoffs and then make some noise against the Eagles and Lions. The Bucs, however, didn’t grade out particularly well (22nd in PBWR, 32nd in RBWR, 10th in pass-blocking, and 29th in run-blocking), and unless there’s significant growth from their young players, like RG Cody Mauch (202nd), the running game is going to struggle again. There were two major changes along the line for the Bucs; the first was replacing LG Aaron Stinnie (now with the Giants) with Ben Bredeson (formerly with the Giants). Strangely, the Bucs were willing to make him the starter, given that he was one of the worst blockers in the league last year by PFF rating (206th), and has never played particularly well in his 4 seasons of pro football.
The second major change to the line was drafting Graham Barton out of Duke with the 26th overall pick in this year’s draft. Barton has reportedly won the starting center job over incumbent Robert Hainsey. Hainsey wasn’t good last year (168th), so the fact that Barton beat him out doesn’t mean it’ll be a huge upgrade, but it is encouraging that Barton was able to play well enough in such a short time to win the starting job over the guy the Bucs’ coaching staff knows and started all of last season.
Tennessee Titans: The Titans are rebuilding the roster and have made significant investments in their line that should pay off in a few years. For the time being, though, this offensive line leaves a little bit to be desired. LG Peter Skoronski was taken with the 11th overall pick in the 2023 draft and played decently in 14 games last year (109th). The Titans also intend to start this year’s first-round pick, LT J.C. Latham, right away. So, there will be some significant growing pains with the left side of this line, meaning QB Will Levis and RB Tony Pollard could be in for some beatings by opposing defensive linemen.
The Titans also lost last year’s center, Aaron Brewer, in free agency. Brewer was well above average with the Titans last season (54th of 217 qualified offensive linemen), and was a mainstay along the line for all of 2022 and 2023. That said, the Titans have picked up a great replacement for Brewer in Lloyd Cushenberry III, formerly of the Broncos. Cushenberry was a strong pass blocker, ranking in the top 20 among interior OL in PBWR and 31st in PFF’s pass-blocking among all linemen. He should step right into the center role and add some needed veteran leadership for Skoronski, Latham, and Will Levis. The right side of the line also saw significant turnover, as neither starter from 2023 is projected to start in 2024 for the Titans. RG Daniel Brunskill, who started 14 games for Tennessee last year, is projected to be the backup to Dillon Radunz. Radunz (78th of 217) played mostly RT for the Titans last season, though he mixed in as LG and LT early in the season while the Titans worked through injuries. RT Chris Hubbard left in free agency to join the 49ers, and likely will be replaced by Nicholas Petit-Frere, who has graded out particularly poorly in his two-ish seasons with the Titans. He played the vast majority of snaps for the Titans in 2022 — not grading out particularly well there — and then appeared in only 3 games for them in 2023, and his absence was not due to injury.
There are really only two players that the Titans can count on to be “good” at this point: Cushenberry and Radunz. The rest have minimal track records, and none of them have been particularly impressive in their times as starters. There will be significant growing pains with this group, especially under a new coaching staff, and as such, it seems like Levis, Pollard, and the rest of the Titans’ skill players should see a slight downgrade fantasy-wise.
Tier 6: Probably Will Hurt Fantasy Production
New York Giants: The Giants ran a vigorous competition against their fellow Jersey resident Jets for the award of the worst offensive line in football. They ranked 24th in PBWR and 31st in RBWR; their results didn’t fare much better under PFF’s watchful eye, as they placed 30th as a run-blocking unit and dead last as a pass-blocking unit by PFF’s grading system. What did they do to improve their line, you might ask?
Well, the Giants finally dumped LG Justin Pugh, who was one of, if not the worst guard in all of football by PFF grade. They replaced Pugh with 34-year-old Greg Van Roten, who was actually not horrible last year for the Raiders. Van Roten was pretty good (29th among guards with at least 240 snaps), actually. While he’s a bit on the older side, and thus more prone to injury, anything is better than Pugh, so that should help this line protect QB Daniel Jones a bit better. That said, the Giants still plan to start John Michael Schmitz Jr., who was also terrible last year (215th among all qualified blockers…out of 217), and have replaced their porous offensive linemen of 2023 with players who were adequate last year. For example, the Giants will roll into the season with Jon Runyan Jr. at LG (97th of 217, but top 20 among interior OL in PBWR) and Jermaine Eluemunor at RT (92nd). The line skews a bit older, with Schmitz and standout OT Andrew Thomas the only players under 27, so there’s a little more injury risk baked into this offensive line.
This unit will have a little more starting experience than the one that “protected” Jones, Tyrod Taylor, and Tommy DeVito last year, and they won’t be quite as bad. But there’s still not much to like about this group, which will be counting on its newcomers to gel quickly together. The Giants will simply need to pray they don’t need to start Evan Neal, who was just as bad as Justin Pugh last year and is listed as the unofficial backup to Eluemunor.
New Orleans Saints: There might be something in the air in the NFC South, as three of the four teams in that division head into this season with offensive lines that don’t look particularly inspiring, the Saints included. New Orleans was not good at either type of blocking last year (28th in PBWR, 25th in pass-blocking, 15th in RBWR, 25th in run-blocking), and has turned over the offensive line significantly, though not for the better (yet). Longtime LT Andrus Peat is gone, replaced by 14th overall pick Taliese Fuaga. Former Chicago Bear Lucas Patrick (180th of 217) has replaced LG James Hurst (134th). RT Ryan Ramczyk will miss the 2024 season after being placed on the PUP list a month ago; he’ll be replaced by Trevor Penning (162nd). When you look at this group from a bird’s-eye view, there’s not much to get excited about, outside of standout C Erik McCoy. With so many uncertainties or just plain bad players taking over across the offensive line, the Saints aren’t likely to improve on last year’s poor statistical showing, and probably won’t protect QB Derek Carr particularly well.
New York Jets: The Jets were probably even worse than the Giants up front last year, all things considered. 30th in PBWR and 29th in RBWR are generally not recipes for success, and they allowed an absurd amount of pressure on poor Zach Wilson (pressured on 27% of his snaps, 2nd-worst clip in the league). The Jets knew they had to replace a huge chunk of their line to protect their aging QB, Aaron Rodgers (who will be 41 in December), so they went out and signed…
- 33-year-old Morgan Moses, the former Ravens tackle. He doesn’t have a long injury history per se, but 33 is old for the NFL. He was in the top 20 tackles in ESPN’s PBWR.
- 33-year-old Tyron Smith, the former Cowboys standout tackle. Smith has not played a full 16 or 17-game season since 2015. Over the past 3 years (50 games), Smith has played in 30. However, he was among the top 10 interior linemen in ESPN’s RBWR.
- 27-year-old John Simpson, a former guard for the Ravens. He was adequate as a guard last season, ranking 108th of 217 among all qualified offensive linemen.
Now, to be fair to the Jets, they also brought in Olu Fashanu, the rookie out of Penn State, with the 11th pick in the 2024 draft. Fashanu is being tested currently as a “swing tackle,” meaning the Jets are trying to get him experience at both right and left tackle so that he can fill in at either spot if needed.
New Jersey’s other team intends to roll out Moses, Smith, and Simpson as starters on the offensive line this season, meaning that both the Jets and Giants will each be counting on 3 guys to gel quickly with the remaining 2 starters. The Giants are hoping for mere competence from their 3 new guys, whereas the Jets are simply praying that Moses and Smith stay healthy, and Simpson performs as he has been. They both have good track records but are not spring chickens. If one of them were to go down, the Jets look scary-thin up front.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Last year, the Jags were absolutely abysmal on the line no matter how you slice it. They were: 29th in PBWR, 21st in PFF’s pass-blocking metric, 27th in RBWR, and 31st in PFF’s run-blocking. They were in the same territory as the Giants and Jets, yet the Jags’ only major move was signing former Bills center Mitch Morse to anchor their line. Morse’s best NFL days are probably behind him at 32 years old, but he has a decent track record (top 10 last year among interior linemen in RBWR), and last year’s metrics show that Morse was adequate but not exceptional overall at center.
Instead, the Jags are hoping that their major move will be a healthy Cam Robinson (who played in only 9 games but was solid when healthy) and major improvements from Ezra Cleveland (129th of 217 eligible linemen by overall grade) and Anton Harrison (166th). The bottom line: a lot has to go right for the Jags to move out of the NFL’s offensive line basement.
There is little reason to be bullish on this group, considering that its best lineman, Brandon Scherff, will be 33 in December and ranked 77th among all qualified linemen in the overall PFF blocking grade. Trevor Lawrence will need to get rid of the ball rather quickly this year.