The offensive line of a team plays a significant role in their effectiveness for not only blocking in the run game, but also blocking in the passing game.
In this article review the offensive line rankings for 2024 (courtesy of PFF) and compare them with 2023 to see if we can draw any conclusions.
Overall, the top three offensive lines from 2023 remain the same in 2024, albeit in a different order, and those are the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts.
Comparing 2023 to 2024, the two teams that have the biggest upgrades are the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, both going from the bottom 10 to the top 10.
Other teams that saw a significant improvement include the Kansas City Chiefs, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Chicago Bears.
The only team to drop from the top 5 all the way to the bottom 10 is the Baltimore Ravens.
Several other teams took a noticeable dip, including the Denver Broncos, the Miami Dolphins, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Houston Texans, the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints.
Attempting to draw conclusions from this, Detroit's elite offensive line significantly helps Goff, ARSB, LaPorta, and most importantly, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Saquon Barkley goes from the 3rd worst ranked offensive line to the 2nd best, I’m sure that won’t hurt.
The Colts kept their impressive ranking of third, which should significantly help Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor. Cleveland's jump from 22nd in 2023 to number 4th in 2024 is likely to have a significant impact on the fantasy production of Deshaun Watson, Jerome Ford, Nick Chubb, as well as Amari Cooper.
The Atlanta Falcons o-line was #4 last year, and is #6 this year, which is a nice boost for Kirk Cousins as he is coming off of an Achilles tear, as well as opening up holes for Bijan Robinson, and helping Drake London and Kyle Pitts.
Surprisingly the Kansas City Chiefs had the 18th best offensive line in their Super Bowl winning 2023 season. With improvements in the off-season they are now ranked 7th, which is only good news for Patrick Mahomes, Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, and of course, Travis Kelce. The Steelers also had a massive upgrade going from 17th to 9th, which should help Russell Wilson integrate into the new offense, especially for Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and George Pickens.
Unfortunately, several other teams took a big dip, including Denver, who may struggle to open holes for Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin as well as rookie Bo Nix. The Miami Dolphins went from 9th best line to 18th, which is potentially concerning for Tua with his history of various injuries including concussions, Raheem Mostert and Achane.
The Carolina Panthers had an awful line last year, but it is slightly improved this year, which should help second year quarterback Bryce Young, Chuba Hubbard, eventually Jonathan Brooks, and Diontae Johnson.
The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t made it very easy for Joe Burrow, but they did make some improvements going from the 26th best line to the 21st. I have some concerns about possible re-injury for Burrow as it pertains to his wrist, especially if he were to get sacked and use that surgically-repaired wrist try to break his fall.
Despite having a monster on the line in Trent Williams, the rest of their line is concerning for the San Francisco 49ers. It didn’t seem to bother them much in 2023, so I’m not gonna make much fuss about it going into 2024.
One of the most important points I want to make in this article is that the Baltimore Ravens went from an elite 5th ranked offensive line all the way to 25th. That is a significant drop. While Lamar Jackson has the ability to scramble, this may create some challenges for Derrick Henry, and having enough time for the development of plays for Lamar Jackson.
The New Orleans Saints line struggled in 2023, but somehow it managed to get worse. It is ranked dead last and this is relatively concerning for Derek Carr who suffered multiple injuries throughout 2023, despite playing through them. It could be potentially good news for Alvin Kamara as he’s likely to be the recipient of Carr’s dump offs.
Rounding out the bottom five offensive lines includes the New England Patriots, the New York Giants, the Tennessee Titans, the Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, the Patriots didn’t make enough moves to reinforce their line, which may delay the impact and arrival of rookie Drake Maye. The Giants didn’t do themselves any favors for Daniel Jones who’s coming off an ACL tear. Similar to how Saquon struggled in 2023, we may see Devin Singletary struggle in 2024.
Finally, the Tennessee Titans offensive line continues to be awful, which will present challenges for second year quarterback Will Levis who loves to throw the deep ball and it may have an impact on DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley as well as running lanes for Tony Pollard and Tajae Spears.
The Seattle Seahawks continue to have a poor offensive line and this will likely present stress for Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker, but may be beneficial for JSN if he is the primary slot receiver.
Hope this was helpful!
