• After placing No. 1 in PFF’s preseason offensive line rankings, the Philadelphia Eagles maintained their spot with a dominant Week 1 outing.
• The Tennessee Titans moved up 14 spots from the preseason rankings after rookie right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere shined in pass protection in Week 1.
• The New York Jets are the biggest fallers from the preseason rankings, dropping 11 spots following injuries and a problematic Week 1 performance.
Estimated Reading Time: 16 mins
Few things are more important to an NFL team’s success than the quality of their offensive line. Disastrous lines, or even disastrous weak-link mismatches, can determine the outcome of games, while strong units provide an incredible advantage.
This season, we will be keeping track of PFF’s offensive line rankings as well as highlighting the biggest weak-link player and their upcoming opponent to identify any obvious matchup advantage one way or the other.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (No Change From Preseason Rankings)
Weakest Link: G Landon Dickerson
Upcoming Opponent: Minnesota Vikings
The Eagles have an outstanding offensive line with little in the way of weakness across the board. That includes a pair of excellent tackles who combined for two pressures surrendered against the Lions, and the interior trio is strong. Their line really doesn’t have any weak links.
Forced to choose the weakest of a strong group, Landon Dickerson has the smallest track record of quality play but still earned a 78.8 PFF pass-blocking grade against the Lions on 44 passing plays. Minnesota’s defensive line will have a tough task attacking this unit in Week 2.
2. Cleveland Browns (No Change)
Weakest Link: C Ethan Pocic
Upcoming Opponent: New York Jets
The Browns showed against Carolina that they can still open up holes in the run game and protect a quarterback who doesn’t make their job any easier. Jacoby Brissett averaged 2.87 seconds per pass and was still sacked only once on 38 dropbacks. Depth is now a concern with injuries already hitting this unit, but even the re-shuffled version looks like a good unit. The Jets caused some problems in Week 1 for Baltimore, and they’ll provide a stern test in Week 2.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Up 1)
Weakest Link: G Luke Goedeke
Upcoming Opponent: New Orleans Saints
Despite struggling to contain Micah Parsons, in particular, in Week 1, Tampa Bay still has an excellent offensive line even after all the injuries they’ve been dealing with. Left tackle Donovan Smith hyperextended his elbow against the Cowboys but has a good chance to play this week, and he will be tested against the Saints’ defensive front. Rookie Luke Goedeke surrendered three pressures in his debut and is the unit’s most vulnerable player.
4. Kansas City Chiefs (Up 5)
Weakest Link: G Trey Smith
Upcoming Opponent: Los Angeles Chargers
The Chiefs’ line was impressive against Arizona, especially on the ground, but they did surrender some pressure against the Cardinals’ heavy blitzes. Creed Humphrey continues to look like the best center in the league, and Joe Thuney is outstanding at one guard spot alongside him.
Trey Smith vastly outperformed his draft position a season ago and is an excellent run defender, but he allowed 57 pressures in his rookie season including the playoffs and has a 60.2 career pass-blocking grade. Pass-rushers can find success against him.
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