Week 5 Offensive Line Rankings

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1. Dallas Cowboys (Previous Rank: 2) – The Cowboys offensive line is officially back. They have been the best O-line in the NFL through four weeks and have earned the top spot. As good as they’ve been, La’el Collins will be back to make this group even better. The Cowboys have something going for them that no other line has at this point, and that is two guys playing at an all-pro level (Zach Martin and Tyron Smith). Combine that with Connor Williams playing like a top 10 guard and Terrence Steele emerging as one of the best run-blockers in the NFL, and it is hard to find a better group at this point in the season. The numbers also back them up as the Cowboys are currently 6th in PA%, tied for 4th in YBC/Att, and they’ve only allowed one sack and two tackles for loss. Biadasz is still a liability in pass pro, but he’s now a plus in the run-game which makes him a competent starter. 
2. Cleveland Browns (Previous Rank: 1) –The Browns found themselves in a dogfight with a mediocre but competitive Vikings team on Sunday in large part due to their inept passing game. The main reason was Baker Mayfield’s struggles at QB, but the Browns had another shaky game in pass pro. They allowed pressure on 29% of their pass plays. Overall they are still fine in this area as they are currently ninth in PA%. A small issue that could become a bigger issue for them is Jedrick Wills Jr. He has been this groups’ weakest performer so far, and that is in large part due to him playing hurt. The Browns might need to bite the bullet and let him sit a game or two to help him get right. He has yet to make it through a full game, and he’s played in all four of them. This group is still killing it in the run-game as all five guys do a good to great job in that area. Joel Bitonio has been their star player this season and looks like an early all-pro candidate. 
3. San Francisco 49ers (Previous Rank: 3) – The 49ers lost a close game to Seattle, but their o-line came to play. Trent Williams had another fantastic game allowing, McGlinchey was great in the run game, and they got solid play from everyone else as well. They are one of the better run-blocking teams in the league, and it shows because they continue to be effective on the ground despite their staple of unknown backs. If the 49ers get slightly more consistent QB play their offense will be fine because this offensive line is creating running lanes and giving whichever QB is behind C time to throw. The 49ers are currently 5th in PA%, 13th in YBC/Att, and their offensive line has committed the fewest penalties in the NFL.  
4. Washington Football Team (Previous Rank: 6) – It’s time someone gave the Washington offensive line some respect, and OLS will by being the first to proclaim them a top-five offensive line in the NFL. They have the best pass-blocking o-line in the NFL through four weeks, and by a significant margin. They are over 2 percentage points better in PA% than the next best team, as they only allow pressures on 14.6% of their pass snaps and have only allowed 1 sack all year. Their only liability in pass pro is Samuel Cosmi, and he’s their best run-blocker so that works out for them. Overall, they’re a middle-of-the-road run-blocking team. It’s hard to say who’s been the best WSH linemen so far this year. Brandon Scherff is the most talented, and he’s having a good year, but he’s not playing at the great level he was last season. Chase Roullier has been very consistent and has been one of the top-10 centers in the league. Even Ereck Flowers has a case, as he’s been one of the best guards in pass pro this year. But the strongest case by a slight edge is Charles Leno Jr. who has been WSH best pass protector when you look at his numbers and the position he plays. He’s not the best run-blocker, but WSH throws on nearly 64% of their plays and has one of the least talented QBs in the NFL. If WSH is going to climb out of their early-season hole to challenge Dal in the division, pass-blocking will be key. 
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Previous Rank: 5) – Tampa Bay’s offensive line is one of the best in the NFL primarily because of their pass blocking, and that was on display on SNF. They only allowed 6 pressures and 1 sack. It’s concerning that Ryan Jensen’s struggles in pass pro have rolled over into this season as he’s in the bottom third of starting centers in pressures allowed. However, the rest of the group has been fine, and Ali Marpet seems to be rounding into form as he’s coming off his best game of the year. Overall, the Bucs are tied for 6th in PA% and have done a fine job keeping Brady upright this season. The run game is where the problems lie for this unit. Wirfs run-blocking has fallen off since last season, and the group as a whole needs to be more consistent in that area. Wirfs has been fine in pass pro, but he has not taken the step many expected him to take after being the best rookie tackle from last season. 
6. Los Angeles Rams (Previous Rank: 4) – A lot went wrong for the Rams in their loss to the Cardinals, but the offensive line was not one of their problems. It may have been their worst performance of the year as they allowed 13 pressures and were called for 3 penalties, both season highs for them, but that is because they’ve set the bar so high with their previous 3 performances. The pressures were more a result of two guys struggling (Austin Corbett and Rob Havenstein allowed 10) than the entire line struggling, and overall, the problems in the passing game stemmed more from Matthew Stafford being so erratic than a lack of protection. The Rams also had a good game run-blocking. They’ve been a well-balanced group all year that can impact both phases of the game. The best news for the Rams is that Whitworth does not appear to be showing his age yet. He had his best game of the season and allowed no pressures Sunday. 
7. Arizona Cardinals (Previous Rank: 7) – 11 different offensive linemen have taken snaps for the Cardinals this season. One would think, with so many guys in and out of the lineup, that would be a recipe for some inconsistency at the very least. On the contrary. The Cardinals are 2nd in PA%, and though their offensive scheme helps inflate those numbers a bit, the Cardinals proved they’re a legit offensive line by holding Aaron Donald to his worse pass-rushing game of this season, and one of the worst of his career as he was fairly quiet all day. There were a lot of double teams, but typically when teams double Donald a lot it opens the doors for other Rams pass rushers to get off. That did not happen. Outside of a few blunders with blitz-pickup, the Cardinals did not give up a lot of pressure vs. the Rams as they only allowed 8. DJ Humphries continues to be this group’s best player as expected, but the addition of Rodney Hudson is also proving dividends. He’s the only offensive lineman in the NFL that has started four games and not allowed a pressure or sack. 
8. Kansas City Chiefs (Previous Rank: 11) – The Chiefs offensive line had their best overall game in week 4. They’ve been good in pass pro this year (8th in PA%) but were great against the Eagles as they only allowed 7 pressures, and 5 came from Orlando Brown. Brown was the 1 negative from the o-line in week 4 for the Chiefs. Everyone had a good game run-blocking. The Chiefs ran for 200 yards on 6.3 YPC, a rare game for this pass-happy offense. The Chiefs have been a good run-blocking team this year, they just don’t do it that much (they throw on 65% of their plays). The Chiefs are averaging 4.4 rush yards before contact (2nd best in the NFL). The Chiefs interior play has been further ahead of the tackles so far. Brown and Niang have both allowed double-digit pressures and are in the bottom third of PA%. But Creed Humphrey had another great game, Thuney finally came to play in the run game, and Trey Smith had his best performance of the year and appears to be growing fast as a player.  
9. Seattle Seahawks (Previous Rank: 10) – Seattle got a potentially season-saving win vs. the 49ers on Sunday, and the o-line did their part. The Seahawks only allowed 6 pressures in the game and had no penalties. However, it wasn’t a perfect performance as they were not as effective run blocking, as they allowed 3 TFL. However, you know Seattle is having a good day in pass pro when Duane Brown was their worst pass-blocker of the day. They got outstanding protection everywhere else, especially from the interior where Gabe Jackson is finally starting to look like his old self in pass pro. Even Cedric Ogbuehi did a good job filling in for Brandon Shell. I’m not concerned about Brown yet, but it’s worth noting he got off to a hot start not allowing any pressures in the 1st 2 games. He’s allowed 5 in the last 2. Might be nothing, but at 36, players are vulnerable to hitting the age wall. 
10. Los Angeles Chargers (Previous Rank: 14) – The Chargers played very well in their MNF win over the Raiders. Outside of Matt Feiler and Storm Norton struggling in pass pro, not a lot went wrong for the Chargers upfront. Everybody played well in the run game, most notably Corey Linsley, who had his best game of the year. Matt Feiler had another excellent run-blocking game, and a case can be made he’s been the best run-blocker in the NFL. Slater is starting to edge ahead of Sewell for best rookie tackle after his best game of the year. All three of those guys are having good seasons, Aboushi Oday is solid, and if Bryan Bulaga comes back later in the year, the Chargers could really be a force upfront. 
11. Green Bay Packers (Previous Rank: 12) – The Packers are a tough offensive line to rank right now. They have 2 pro-bowl players out, but both will be back. Also, the guys they have out there now are not overly talented, but they have been surprisingly effective. The Packers are 12th in PA%, and only allowed 10 pressures vs. a good Steelers pass rush. I expected the Steelers defense to dominate the Packers o-line, and that didn’t happen. Right now, the key players to look at on this offensive line are Jon Runyan, Billy Turner, and Josh Myers. They figure to remain in the lineup once David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins come back. All three have been solid this year, and if you add two pro-bowlers to the mix GB will definitely have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL. 
12. Philadelphia Eagles (Previous Rank: 8) – It’s been a brutal season for the Eagles injury-wise on the o-line, and it’s just week 4. For most teams, having four starters on the offensive line out for a game would be a death sentence. However, the Eagles are deep on the line and the Chiefs are also one of the worst defenses in the NFL. It’s never a great time to have to start four backups on the o-line, but there couldn’t have been a better week to have to do so with the Chiefs and that horrible defense in town. The Eagles moved the ball on the Chiefs, and their run-blocking played a key role. Philly rushed for over 100 yards on 5.4 YPC despite trailing most of the game and needing to throw more in the 2nd half. They were not as good in pass pro allowing 18 sacks, but considering it was a line of mostly backups, that is not a terrible performance. The good news is, Lane Johnson only missed due to personal reasons and will be back. Mailata is still recovering from an MCL sprain that could keep him out a little longer. Until things settle down injury-wise and we get a sense of what five-man combination they go with once everyone gets back who can comeback, it’s hard to really rank this group. 
13. Baltimore Ravens (Previous Rank: 15) – The Ravens have a middle of the road offensive line. They are one of the better run-blocking groups in the league, but they are also a bad pass pro unit. Bal ranks 25th in PA% but is 8th in YBC/Att. Alejandro Villanueva must be driving the Ravens coaching staff crazy. In games 1 & 3, he allowed 18 pressures and 3 sacks. In games 2 & 4, he allowed 1 pressure and no sacks. Will the real Villanueva please stand up? Bradley Bozeman remains this group's best player after another solid outing vs. the Broncos. 
14. New England Patriots (Previous Rank: 9) – In last week’s rankings, I called the Patriots o-line one of the most disappointing. Well, the Titans are the only thing keeping them from being in first place for that honor at the moment. The Patriots ran for -1 yards rushing for an entire game. Yes, TB has an elite run defense, but a team being able to rush for 1 yard in an NFL game is pathetic. The Patriots were able to throw it as Mac Jones had a good game, but the Pats offensive line didn’t make it easy for him. They allowed 12 pressures and four sacks, and most of it came off the edges as the tackle positions were responsible for allowing all four sacks and 8/12 pressures. It’s time for the Pats to stop sending Justin Herron out there at RT and use Yassir Durant. It’s also time for David Andrews and Isaiah Wynn to start playing better. The Patriots are currently 20th in PA%, 31st in YBC/Att, and have committed 9 penalties. We’re one month into the season, and the time for allowing teams to rest on what they did last year or pre-season hype is over. The numbers don’t lie here, this unit isn’t playing at a high level right now. 
15. Buffalo Bills (Previous Rank: 18) – It’s hard to put much stock in the Bills 40-0 win over a terrible Texans team, but they played well. Buffalo allowed 8 pressures in the game, their fewest in a game all season. The Bills made a lineup change by electing to bench the struggling Cody Ford. They moved Daryl Williams to RG and moved Spencer Brown into the starting lineup at RT. This new lineup won’t be tested much next week vs. a terrible Chiefs defense either so it may be a while before we really know if this lineup change made them better upfront. 
16. New Orleans Saints (Previous Rank: 20) – The Saints have been beat up on the o-line, but they had a respectable outing in their week 4 matchup with the Giants. While the overall result wasn’t good for the team as a whole, the NO line played well. They only allowed 7 pressures with no sacks, no TFL, and 1 penalty. The Saints have been a run-first team all season, and Ryan Ramczyk helped lead the way for a successful rushing game as he had another strong run-blocking performance. Overall, Ramczyk has allowed more pressure than one would expect from a player of his caliber, but he’s been the Saints best player upfront this season. James Hurst looked great filling in for Terron Armstead as he only allowed 1 pressure. NO got decent play from the interior as well, and they look like they might be able to weather the storm of injuries.  
17. Cincinnati Bengals (Previous Rank: 22) – The Bengals have been one of the surprise teams of the NFL so far, and their offensive line has also surprised. Cincy currently ranks 3rd in PA% and it’s in large part due to the excellent play they're getting in pass pro on the left side from Jonah Williams and Quinton Spain. Riley Reiff has been solid on the other side, and Jackson Carman looks like an upgrade over Xavier Su’A-Filo. Even Trey Hopkins is starting to play better this season. 
18. Atlanta Falcons (Previous Rank: 19) – The Falcons offensive line isn’t great, but they are contributing to a Falcons offense that can move the ball and score points. Atlanta’s struggles are more defensive-related than anything. The Falcons are a middle-of-the-road pass pro team (17th in PA%) and a poor run-blocking team, so overall it’s a mediocre o-line. But they have two guys on it that are pretty good in Chris Lindstrom and Jake Matthews that are helping to carry some of the dead weight. Kaleb McGary has been more or less serviceable to below-average most of the year, but he had his best game of the season in week 4. The biggest problems on this unit are Matt Hennessy who is 27th out of 33 eligible centers in PA%, and Jalen Mayfield who has been one of the worst guards in the NFL. 
19. Houston Texans (Previous Rank: 23) – The Texans don’t have a lot of good things going for them. Their offensive lines’ ability to pass-block is one good thing. The Texans are in the top 10 in PA% and only have one player that has allowed 10 or more pressures on the season. Those numbers are a little inflated due to Davis Mills having the 30th ranked yards per attempt which suggests the Texans are not taking many chances down the field with him in. However, the tape does show this group doing a solid job in pass pro. Outside of Tytus Howard, everyone else on this line is pretty reliable in pass pro. Unfortunately, pass blocking only gets an offense so far when the QB throws 4 interceptions and has a 0.8 QBR. This offensive line remains one of the worst run-blocking units in the NFL, and the Texans are ranked last in YBC/Att at 1.5.  
20. Chicago Bears (Previous Rank: 27) – The Chicago Bears offensive line has been the team version of Alejandro Villanueva as they’ve been up and down all year. In weeks 1 & 3 the Bears o-line allowed 25 pressures and 7 sacks. In weeks 2 & 4 they allowed 7 pressures and 1 sack. Week 4 was their best game of the season as they allowed only 2 pressures the entire game. It should be noted that the Bears only had 20 pass snaps, but they still did a good job in pass pro when asked. Clearly the Bears coaching staff took a hard look at the week 3 film and decided to make drastic changes. However, any team can go into a game with the plan to run. The Bears o-line also went out and executed in the run-game as well. Numbers-wise, a case can be made the Bears are more of a middle of the pack line than bottom tier. They’re 15th in PA% and 18th in YBC/Att. The problem is the Bears have been so inconsistent. The interior has underperformed. Sam Mustipher is one of the worst starting centers, and both guards, Cody Whitehair and James Daniels, are on pace to have the worst season of their careers. 
21. Tennessee Titans (Previous Rank: 16) – It looked like the Titans might be ready to turn the corner after their best pass pro game in week 3. Well, they followed that up with an even worse pass pro performance than their week 1 debacle vs. the Cardinals. Ten allowed 29 pressures, 5 sacks, and committed 5 penalties in the upset loss to the Jets. Even David Quessenberry, who had been the Titans most consistent player upfront, had a horrible game. Nate Davis is tied for the most pressures allowed with 20, and he’s an interior guy. There is some good news for this group. Rodger Saffold played a great game, and he looks like their best player. This unit can also still run block. However, Tannehill is having his worst season with the Titans, and this group's performance in pass pro is a contributing factor. 
22. New York Jets (Previous Rank: 26) – The Jets had their best all-around game of the year, and so did their offensive line. They allowed 8 pressures vs. the Titans, and it was the first time all season they’ve allowed single-digit pressures in a game. Everyone except Greg Van Roten played well in pass pro. Alijah Vera-Tucker had proven he could run-block, but this was his best pass-blocking game of the year as he allowed no sacks or pressures. The Jets are still only 24th in PA%, and this was their first collective good game in pass pro so it remains to be seen if they can consistently play this well. 
23. Indianapolis Colts (Previous Rank: 13) – It’s time for the Colts to start getting concerned about this offensive line. They are dead last in PA%, and everyone not named Quenton Nelson is having a bad season so far on this unit. They beat a bad Dolphins team, but the offensive line struggled again. They are the only team in the NFL that has four starters that have allowed double-digit pressures. Ryan Kelly is tied for most sacks and pressures allowed by a C in 2021. Glowinski had his first good game of the year in week 4. Eric Fisher hasn’t looked right all season, and Julie’n Davenport needs to go back to the bench. Not even the brilliance of Quenton Nelson can turn things around for this group if the other 4 starters stink.  
24. Carolina Panthers (Previous Rank: 25) – The Panthers put up points vs. Dallas, but the o-line did not have a good game. They allowed 15 pressures, 3 sacks, 2 TFL, and committed 3 penalties. Taylor Moton and Dennis Daley were good in pass pro, but the other three guys struggled. Matt Paradis, Cam Erving, and John Miller each allowed 1 sack and a combined 13 pressures. The Panthers have weapons, and Darnold has proven to be a quality NFL QB. If this line can just protect him, Carolina has a shot to go to the playoffs. They’ve been ok in the run game this season, Moton and Paradis have been their top run-blockers, and Daley has been solid as well. The Panthers rank 24th in PA% and are 28th in YBC/att.    
25. Denver Broncos (Previous Rank: 21) – The Broncos looked bad in their week 4 loss to the Ravens, and their o-line was bad as well. They allowed 19 pressures, 3 sacks, and 2 TFL. They didn’t pass protect well at all and the run-blocking was inconsistent despite the quality team rushing numbers. Both tackles struggled in pass pro as Garrett Bolles and Bobby Massie allowed a combined 9 pressures and 2 sacks. Netane Muti was the worst of all as he allowed 8 pressures and 1 sack. Lloyd Cushenberry and Quinn Meinerz had good games in pass pro, but Meinerz was their worst run-blocker. The Broncos really missed Dalton Risner in this game. The Broncos now rank 28th in PA%. 
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (Previous Rank: 28) – The Jags lost to the Bengals on TNF, but the offense had some good moments, and Trevor Lawrence played the best game of his young career. It also may have been the Jags o-line best game. They allowed seven pressures, their lowest mark in a game this season, and no sacks, TFL, or penalties. Andrew Norwell was their best performer upfront in week 4 and has now overtaken Linder as the best player in the group at this point in the year. Linder has been shaky in pass pro in the last two games allowing 6 pressures after not allowing any in the first 2. Jewan Taylor had been struggling, but he had his best game of the year. Cam Robinson has yet to have a stand-out game and overall he’s been disappointing. AJ Cann got hurt and is gone for the season. He had been the worst player in the group through the first 3 games, and Ben Bartch, a 4th round pick in 2020, will get an opportunity to take over for a while as Cann was placed on I.R. 
27. Detroit Lions (Previous Rank: 17) – Frank Ragnow got hurt in week 4, and it doesn’t look like he’ll play in week 5. Penei Sewell had his worst game of the year allowing 7 pressures and 2 sacks. Matt Nelson and Big V were not a lot better. The good news is Jonah Jackson looks a lot better in the last 2 weeks than he did after a disastrous first 2 weeks. However, without Ragnow and Taylor Decker, this is one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Both will be back at some point, but until they are, this line takes a hit in the rankings. 
28. Pittsburgh Steelers (Previous Rank: 30) – Add the Steelers to the list of bad o-lines that had their best game of the year in week 4. They allowed 6 pressures, 2 sacks, and most importantly only had 1 penalty (they had 7 last week). Dan Moore was the only Steeler that didn’t play well. He allowed a team-high 3 pressures and struggled run-blocking as well. Moore has been the Steelers weakest player upfront throughout the year, and it’s never a good thing when the LT is the weak link on an o-line. The Steelers are a competent bunch in pass pro, but their 4th best PA% of 18.4% is an example of how numbers can lie. The Steelers strength may be pass pro, but that is more of a product of them being one of the worse run-blocking teams in the NFL than it is them being a top 5 pass pro team. The Steelers inability to run and Ben’s inability to throw the ball down the field consistently has the Steelers continuing their approach of last season of throwing the ball short and quick which has inflated this groups stats. Ben’s 6.1 yards per attempt are tied for 28th in the NFL. 
29. Minnesota Vikings (Previous Rank: 24) – The Vikings are loaded at the skill positions and have a good QB in Kirk Cousins. Yet all they could manage was 7 points in their week 4 loss to the Browns. The primary reason for their ineptitude on offense was the putrid performance of the o-line. They allowed 27 pressures on 45 pass snaps. That means they allowed pressure on 60% of the pass plays. No QB is good enough to overcome that. Brian O’Neill had been playing great having not allowed a pressure in 3 games. He allowed 4 vs. the Browns. Oli Udoh allowed 8 and Rashod Hill allowed 10 with a sack. This offensive line has little room for error, and O’Neil and Udoh had been the Vikings most consistent pass-blockers all year coming into this game. When they struggle this line has no chance. 
30. New York Giants (Previous Rank: 31) – The Giants o-line is still struggling, but unlike last season, there have been some bright spots. Most notably Andrew Thomas, who had another good game for the Giants in week 4. He allowed only 1 pressure for the second consecutive week. He’s been the Giants best pass-blocker, run-blocker, he’s just far and away the best player in the group, and he's their only hope not to be the worst line in the NFL in 2021. Will Hernandez also had a good game. He allowed no pressures and has been the Giants 2nd best lineman this year. Matt Skura played well in his first game of the year. He also allowed only 1 pressure. None of the Giants outside of Andrew Thomas did much in the run game, and that has been the case for the season too. 
31. Las Vegas Raiders (Previous Rank: 29) – The Raiders had been winning in spite of their o-line through the first 3 weeks, but were unable to do so Monday night. The Raiders looked overwhelmed upfront trying to deal with the Chargers defense. The o-line allowed 18 pressures and 2 sacks in the loss. Kolton Miller continues to be the lone good player of the bunch. He was the only player in this group that played well Monday. We already knew the Raiders are not a good run-blocking team. So when they are also struggling in pass pro, things are not going to go well for this offense, which is why they only scored 14 points Monday. Eluemunor had been the other player they could count on upfront in the first 3 games, but he had his first bad game of the year this week. Andre James and John Simpson have struggled most of the year. This offensive line has many problems, but Alex Leatherwood is the most prevalent. He’s been arguably the worst starting tackle in the NFL, and with them being a 3-1 team with playoff aspirations, it may be time to send him to the bench. Now’s not the time for them to be trying to develop players that aren’t ready to play. 
32. Miami Dolphins (Previous Rank: 32) – The Colts might be last in PA% but make no mistake, the Dolphins are the worst pass-blocking o-line in the NFL. It’s hard to imagine they won’t be the entire year given all the youth they have. This bunch has a bunch of problems. They are one of the few teams in the NFL with four players that have allowed over 10 pressures in 4 games. Now that Andrew Thomas is emerging in NY, and the Steelers are at least competent in pass pro, the Dolphins appear to almost be a lock to be 32nd in these rankings all year. This is the only offensive line in the NFL where there is nothing positive to say about it.