Six weeks into the season, and injuries are taking their toll on a lot of the league's offensive lines. Some big names are gone for the year. Conversely, some youngsters have stepped up and veterans have showed they still have some life in their legs, making some lines better than expected.
The Patriots lost left tackle Nate Solder for the season. They plugged Marcus Cannon into that spot, but now they're weaker at guard, where Cannon was playing previously.
The Chargers have several players banged up with knee and concussion issues. Those players are dealing with short-term injuries, but multi-week absences still cause the line to slip.
Meanwhile, the Falcons seemed to have one of the league's worst offensive lines, but they've been a lot better than expected, particularly in terms of run-blocking. Those who have Devonta Freeman on their fantasy teams are well aware.
Arizona has also been better than anticipated. On the flip side, the Saints and Eagles have had injuries, or underperformed, or both. Dolphins too.
Dallas hasn't been as dominant as expected; they've benched left guard Ronald Leary for rookie La'el Collins. Still the best in our eyes, though.
The Rams come in as our bottom-ranked line. Todd Gurley is a great running back, already, and he seems even better when you consider how little help he's getting from the line in front of him.
Rankings below, including where they were ranked at the start of the season. Our Facebook page has a colorful table showing how we're grading individual starters on each line, and the rankings that result.
| OFFENSIVE LINE RANKINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| tteam | Old | New |
| Dallas | 1 | 1 |
| Green Bay | 2 | 2 |
| Cleveland | 3 | 3 |
| Baltimore | 6 | 4 |
| Cincinnati | 7 | 5 |
| San Francisco | 10 | 6 |
| NY Jets | 13 | 7 |
| Philadelphia | 4 | 8 |
| New Orleans | 5 | 9 |
| Miami | 11 | 10 |
| Washington | 12 | 11 |
| Buffalo | 14 | 12 |
| Pittsburgh | 27 | 13 |
| New England | 8 | 14 |
| Atlanta | 29 | 15 |
| Arizona | 23 | 16 |
| Detroit | 9 | 17 |
| Houston | 16 | 18 |
| Denver | 18 | 19 |
| Oakland | 19 | 20 |
| San Diego | 17 | 21 |
| Tennessee | 24 | 22 |
| Chicago | 21 | 23 |
| Indianapolis | 15 | 24 |
| NY Giants | 30 | 25 |
| Seattle | 22 | 26 |
| Minnesota | 25 | 27 |
| Kansas City | 20 | 28 |
| Carolina | 28 | 29 |
| Tampa Bay | 31 | 30 |
| Jacksonville | 26 | 31 |
| St. Louis | 32 | 32 |
--Andy Richardson