It's been a brutal year for injuries, and the league's offensive lines are no different. Denver, Seattle, Green Bay and New England have all seen key mainstays at the tackle positions get hurt, most for the entire season.
As the injuries mount, we continually update our rankings of the league's best and worst offensive lines. One injury -- like New England losing tackle Sebastian Vollmer to a broken leg, and Dallas losing guard Brian Waters to a triceps injury -- can have a profound effect on a line's overall play. Seattle and Denver have been trying to get by without both starting tackles, and quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson have been absorbing plenty of hits because of it.
Denver got right tackle Orlando Franklin back, which helps, while Seattle is expected to get its tackles back before much longer -- left tackle Russell Okung could return for Week 11. That will be a boon to their offense, which struggled against the Rams on Monday night. So would more of an emphasis on the running game; considering the tackle injuries, they threw the ball far more than expected in that game.
Carolina is one of the big climbers. They lost a couple of players to injury early on, including guard Amini Silatolu, but have got solid play from fill-in Travelle Wharton. Not stellar, but good enough that the offense has been playing well. At the other end of the spectrum, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville have been hamstrung by poor lines (although those are hardly the only issues on those teams).
Here's how I'm ranking the offensive lines 1-32. To see the rankings with team and individual position grades included (next to the projected starters) we'll be uploading these to our Facebook page later today (fantasyindex.com).
| Offensive Lines |
|---|
| San Francisco |
| Kansas City |
| Baltimore |
| Carolina |
| Minnesota |
| New Orleans |
| Cleveland |
| Tennessee |
| Philadelphia |
| Cincinnati |
| New England |
| Chicago |
| Miami |
| Washington |
| Denver |
| St. Louis |
| NY Jets |
| Tampa Bay |
| Green Bay |
| NY Giants |
| Dallas |
| Houston |
| San Diego |
| Indianapolis |
| Buffalo |
| Seattle |
| Detroit |
| Oakland |
| Arizona |
| Atlanta |
| Pittsburgh |
| Jacksonville |
--Andy Richardson