We are only a few months away from the start of training camp. However, before we completely turn the page on last season, let's take a look at the top 25 offensive linemen from 2021. This list is based primarily on how players played last season. Only lineman who played at least 50% of the league average total snaps (min. 564 snaps) were eligible for the list. The list will be released in increments of 5, counting down from 25 to 1.
25. Rob Havenstein Havenstein had a good season that flew under the radar because of a loaded NFC tackle field that featured a lot of good players this past season. Havenstein was good in the run and pass game this season. As a pass blocker, he finished top 5 in pass block win rate and top 20 among tackles with 500 or more snaps in PA%. He was one of the better run-blocking tackles this season as well. 24. Orlando Brown Brown was up and down throughout the year as a pass blocker, but overall he was good. His 4.84 percent PA% ranked top 25 among tackles with 500 snaps or more. However, the primary reason he made the pro-bowl and deserves to be on this list is because of his work in the run game. He tied for the highest run block win rate among all tackles. 23. Dion Dawkins Dawkins had established himself as a good tackle prior to 2021, but he took it up a notch last season and had the best season of his career. His play resulted in his 1st pro-bowl appearance, and it was well deserved. Dawkins was an elite pass-blocker in 2021. He was top 10 among tackles in PA% and pass block win rate. The only reason he wasn’t higher on the list is because he’s just an average run-blocker. 22. Braden Smith Braden Smith is tough to rank. He entered the season hurt and tried to play through it in week 1, but it resulted in his worst start of the season. He would go on to miss the next six games before returning in week 8. In the 10 games he played from week 8 to week 17, he might’ve been the best tackle in the AFC. He was very good in pass pro and great in the run game. It’s probably not a coincidence that Jonathan Taylor only had three games over 100 yards rushing from week 1 to week 7 and seven games over 100 yards after week 7. 21. Chris Lindstrom Lindstrom had a breakout season in his third year and was one of the biggest o-line pro-bowl snubs of 2021. They even had the nerve to make Jonah Jackson an alternate over him. If the national media and the NFL won’t recognize him, it’s ok because we’ll give him props here. He was the best player on what was primarily a two-man line in Atlanta as he and Jake Matthews often were their only players who played well consistently. Lindstrom had a rough four-game stretch from weeks 13-16 that hurt him and probably cost him with the media, but he was off to such a great start that it shouldn’t have hurt him that much. He finished top 30 in PA% among guards and was one of the best run-blocking guards in the NFL this season
1 Comment
BoltHead
6/6/2022 10:43:26 am
Another great article. Keep it up!
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