With the upcoming season quickly approaching, I’m going to be taking a look at the landscape of the NFL, position by position, over the course of the next several weeks. We’ll be talking about the who’s who of the NFL in our own little version of the NFL Network’s “Top 100 Players” bit they do every year. Up next, we have the offensive lines!
The Top 10 NFL Offensive Lines for 2018
10. San Francisco 49ers – It’s no secret that Joe Staley has long been one of the best left tackles in the NFL, but I like how this 49ers line is shaping up around him. They added right tackle Mike McGlinchey in the draft to give them a formidable set of bookend tackles. Weston Richburg and Laken Tomlinson both look like steady forces along the interior. This suddenly looks like one of the best up and coming lines in the league.
9. Los Angeles Rams – You can’t help but wonder if Father Time is just sitting around waiting to introduce himself to the Rams offensive line. The average age of the starting unit is 30.2 years old. While Andrew Whitworth helped guide the Rams to a major improvement in 2017, he’s 37. Stud center Jon Sullivan is 33. At 25, Jamon Brown is the youngest of this group. Still, this is a talented group that should be among the best in the league, at least for 2018.
8. Detroit Lions – Don’t look now, but here come the Lions. After a 2017 that ravaged the offensive line with injuries, everyone finally looks healthy (fingers crossed on T.J. Lang). They’ve really made an effort to beef up the offensive line to protect Matthew Stafford in recent seasons. Rick Wagner was a prized acquisition a season ago. Taylor Decker is back and healthy for 2018. But, the best move of all may well prove to be drafting the best center in the 2018 NFL Draft, Frank Ragnow, who has been slotted at right guard.
7. Atlanta Falcons – Center Alex Mack has been the anchor of that offensive line since they signed him, and has graded out among the best at his position. Jake Matthews, though inconsistent, and Ryan Schraeder are both well above average tackles. But, the guard position may as well be a gaping hole. The Falcons offensive line definitely has the experience factor, having started a lot of games together. But, do they have the raw talent that some of the best in the NFL do?
6. Green Bay Packers – Let’s face it – it’s all about protecting Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and the Packers may have the best pass protecting tackle in all of football in David Bakhtiari. If Bryan Bulaga can return to his old form and stay healthy, the Packers have a pair of stud bookend tackles, but the interior of that line leaves a little to be desired.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers are one of those teams that always seem to have a solid offensive line. Like, you could put up five tackling dummies in front of Ben Roethlisberger, and they’d still make this list. While Marcus Gilbert and Alejandro Villanueva make for a pretty good bookend combo, it’s right guard David DeCastro who was the highest graded Steeler lineman in 2017 according to Pro Football Focus.
4. New Orleans Saints – Perhaps no line on this list has gone from bad to good as drastically as the Saints…I mean, they used to be bad. If Terron Armstead can stay healthy, he’s one of the best left tackles in the game. Sophomore right tackle Ryan Ramczyk looks like he’s poised to become one of the best young offensive linemen in the league. Larry Warford had a good season at right guard, earning Pro Bowl honors in the process. Max Unger and Andrus Peat round out a talented interior for a line that should take the next step in 2018.
3. Tennessee Titans – Jacked up left tackle Taylor Lewan became the highest paid offensive lineman in the history of the NFL this offseason. Jack Conklin is an All-Pro right tackle, and though he’s still recovering from a torn ACL, figures to play soon into the 2018 season. In the meantime, Dennis Kelly is starting at RT, and is a “sixth man” that a lot of teams would like to have. Quinton Spain is having a bounce-back preseason, as I figured he would. But, perhaps the biggest boost for this unit comes in switching to a new zone blocking scheme, something that particularly stands to benefit Spain and Josh Kline. Throw in Ben Jones at center, and this is a line that can hang with the best the NFL has to offer.
2. Dallas Cowboys – There’s a lot of “ifs” surrounding the offensive line in Dallas this year, but if things go according to plan, this will once again be the best offensive line in football. La’el Collins was obviously the weak link along the line last season, but he showed improvement at right tackle as the season wore on. Plus, he’s too talented to give up on now. He’s practicing through a bruised calf, but it doesn’t appear to be too serious an injury. Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, and Travis Frederick are among the very best at their respective positions. But, Frederick is battling an incredibly rare autoimmune disease that has him sidelined indefinitely.
The Cowboys beefed up at left guard, investing a second round draft pick in Connor Williams. The former Texas product had a first round grade, with many thinking he would be the second offensive lineman off the board last spring. All things considered, this is the deepest, most talented collection of linemen in the NFL. But, there are too many big questions surrounding this unit to put ’em at #1. Can Frederick return to form? Will Collins continue to improve? Is Williams what we think he’ll be?
1. Philadelphia Eagles – There’s a lot to like about the reigning best o-line in football. Jason Peters has been a stalwart at the left tackle position for the better part of the last decade, and they’ll get him back after a torn ACL ended his 2017 campaign. But, at 36 years old, you wonder if he’ll be the same player he was before. Thankfully, this is a line that also boasts the best center in the NFL, Jason Kelce, and dynamic talent Lane Johnson at right tackle. This is still going to be a formidable unit, but it’s going to be hard to put together a body of work like they did in 2017.
Other 2018 NFL Top 10s
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Tight Ends
Wide Receivers
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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