Offensive Line Rankings: Breaking down the NFL's best/worst protection units
Get ready for your season with theScore's 2017 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
Fantasy football might be powered by skill-position stars, but offensive lines are the driving force that set most week-winning performances in motion.
As you prepare for your drafts, it's crucial to consider how lines have changed heading into the new season and how those changes impact the players they're blocking for.
Below, we rank all 32 offensive lines, taking into account past performance, offseason upgrades, overall depth, and the very underrated element of continuity.
Offensive Line Rankings
32-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | George Fant |
| LG | Mark Glowinski |
| C | Justin Britt |
| RG | Luke Joeckel |
| RT | Germain Ifedi |
Depth: Ethan Pocic, Rees Odhiambo, Oday Aboushi, Justin Senior, Joey Hunt
The Seahawks continue to ignore the offensive line. What else is new? Russell Wilson and Seattle's crop of running backs will once again be put at a disadvantage this season because of this underwhelming group.
31. New York Jets| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Kelvin Beachum |
| LG | James Carpenter |
| C | Wesley Johnson |
| RG | Brian Winters |
| RT | Ben Ijalana |
Depth: Dakota Dozier, Brandon Shell, Jonotthan Harrison, Craig Watts, Brent Qvale
There's little to get excited about on the Jets' roster this season, and their offensive line is no different. With their Vegas win total set at 4.5 games, the Jets will be trailing most weeks, which means opposing pass rushers will be teeing off. Bilal Powell's work as a receiver out of the backfield should salvage his value, because there won't be many holes opened up behind this group.
30. San Francisco 49ers| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Joe Staley |
| LG | Zane Beadles |
| C | Jeremy Zuttah |
| RG | Joshua Garnett |
| RT | Trent Brown |
Depth: Daniel Kilgore, Garry Gilliam, Brandon Fusco, Tim Barnes, John Theus
Let's see if the vaunted Shanahan zone running game can help San Francisco overcome the talent shortage up front. Aside from a steady veteran in Staley, the 49ers' offensive line is question marks across the board.
29. Cincinnati Bengals| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Cedric Ogbuehi |
| LG | Clint Boling |
| C | Russell Bodine |
| RG | Andre Smith |
| RT | Jake Fisher |
Depth: Eric Winston, Christian Westerman, J.J. Dielman, T.J. Johnson, Alex Redmond
Free agency destroyed the Bengals' line this year, with left tackle Andrew Whitworth and right guard Kevin Zeitler signing elsewhere. Andy Dalton fared well when he had a top-five line protecting him, but with his blockers now among the league's worst, there's reason to be concerned about the upside of the entire offense.
28. New York Giants| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Ereck Flowers |
| LG | Justin Pugh |
| C | Weston Richburg |
| RG | John Jerry |
| RT | Bobby Hart |
Depth: DJ Fluker, Brett Jones, Jon Halapio, Adam Gettis, Adam Bisnowaty
There's plenty of reason to be excited about the Giants' skill-position talent, both from a fantasy and on-field perspective, but the offensive line situation remains a pressing concern. Might the offense's run and pass upside be limited as a result?
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Donovan Smith |
| LG | Kevin Pamphile |
| C | Ali Marpet |
| RG | J.R. Sweezy |
| RT | Demar Dotson |
Depth: Evan Smith, Joe Hawley, Caleb Benenoch, Leonard Wester
Outside of Marpet and Dotson, the Bucs lack quality talent up front. Sweezy is a veteran presence who could help after missing all of last season due to injury, but the left side of the line remains a problem. Tampa Bay loaded up on weapons for Jameis Winston, but they may regret not shoring up their line.
26. Houston Texans| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Duane Brown |
| LG | Xavier Su'a-Filo |
| C | Nick Martin |
| RG | Jeff Allen |
| RT | Chris Clark |
Depth: Breno Giacomini, Julie'n Davenport, Greg Mancz, David Quessenberry, Kyle Fuller
Brown has long been a top-tier player at left tackle, and he should continue as such without an injury impacting his season preparation like last year. Outside of Brown, this line will struggle to perform at the level it has in past seasons. Martin winning the starting center job after a lost rookie year would be an important boost.
25. Miami Dolphins| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Laremy Tunsil |
| LG | Isaac Asiata |
| C | Mike Pouncey |
| RG | Jermon Bushrod |
| RT | Ja'Wuan James |
Depth: Ted Larsen, Kraig Urbik, Anthony Steen, Sam Young
When his blockers were all healthy, Jay Ajayi and Dolphins' run game were dominant. The return of Pouncey to anchor the line will be a major boost, but the ultimate success of this unit will depend on the development of Tunsil, who is taking over for Branden Albert at left tackle. The addition of one of the league's best blocking tight ends, Anthony Fasano, should help Ajayi as well.
24. Los Angeles Rams| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Andrew Whitworth |
| LG | Rodger Saffold |
| C | John Sullivan |
| RG | Rob Havenstein |
| RT | Jamon Brown |
Depth: Andrew Donnall, Austin Blythe, Cody Wichmann, Darrell Williams
Scooping up Whitworth in free agency is a monumental upgrade over former first-round bust Greg Robinson. The rest of the group may not be spectacular, but it's still more than enough to give Todd Gurley a chance. The idea that the offensive line was to blame for his sophomore flop was always overblown, anyway.
23. Minnesota Vikings| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Riley Reiff |
| LG | Alex Boone |
| C | Pat Elflein |
| RG | Joe Berger |
| RT | Mike Remmers |
Depth: T.J. Clemmings, Nick Easton, Willie Beavers, Reid Fragel, Danny Isidora
Poor offensive line play led to the downfall of the 2016 Vikings, in part due to a wave of injuries that decimated the starters. Minnesota attempted to rectify this by signing Reiff and Remmers, and drafting Elflein, but it will take time for them to settle in with their new crew. Rookie Dalvin Cook was a star behind a poor line at Florida State and he may need to overcome subpar blocking once again.
22. Indianapolis Colts| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | Anthony Castonzo |
| LG | Jack Mewhort |
| C | Ryan Kelly |
| RG | Joe Haeg |
| RT | Le'Raven Clark |
Depth: Denzelle Good, Zach Banner, Brian Schwenke, Jeremy Vujnovich
Andrew Luck has taken far too much punishment while the Colts' front office failed time and again to get him the protection he needed and deserved. Keeping Luck healthy will be of the utmost importance when he returns from offseason shoulder surgery and the left side of the line is more than capable of holding up their end of that bargain. Unfortunately, the right side remains a work in progress.
21. Arizona Cardinals| Pos. | Starter |
|---|---|
| LT | D.J. Humphries |
| LG | Mike Iupati |
| C | A.Q. Shipley |
| RG | Dorian Johnson |
| RT | Jared Veldheer |
Depth: Will Holden, Evan Boehm, Tony Bergstrom, John Wetzel, Cole Toner
Veldheer being moved to the right side likely isn't a great sign for his future in Arizona, but he and Humphries should continue to provide a solid tandem on the outside for the time being. Johnson is also an intriguing rookie to pair with Iupati at guard.
Offensive Line Rankings
32-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
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