The season kicks off this weekend, so we can say with some degree of certainty who the offensive line starters are for each team. Since the last update a couple of weeks ago, there's been plenty of personnel shifts. And there's one very noteworthy absence.
Here are some of the biggest offensive line developments.
1. Duane Brown remains a holdout. Houston has question marks at a lot of spots on the line, but the Brown holdout wrecks one of the few sure things. I'm not removing him entirely because I still believe this thing will get resolved at some point, but the grade for that spot needs to be lowered as it becomes clear that Brown is going to miss some time.
2. Donald Penn ended his holdout. The Raiders line already looked good, but that's a development that greatly aids their 2017 outlook.
3. Saint Terron Armstead is ahead of his schedule in rehab from shoulder surgery, and avoided the PUP list to start the season. When he returns, most likely he'll be the left tackle, rookie Ryan Ramczyk will slide either to the right side or a guard spot. Either way, it's a big plus for the Saints line.
4. Bears Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long has an ankle injury that will likely sideline him for Week 1 at a minimum. The possibility of him missing multiple games has us lowering the grade for that spot on the line.
5. The Vikings cut Alex Boone; the Cardinals quickly scooped him up. Minnesota evidently thinks they'll be better without him, which is fine, but the Cardinals will definitely be better with him. Nice upgrade for their line.
Updated offensive line rankings are below. A colorful table showing our grades for each player can be seen at our Facebook page.
OFFENSIVE LINE RANKINGS | |
---|---|
Rk | Team |
1. | Dallas |
2. | Pittsburgh |
3. | Tennessee |
4. | Oakland |
5. | Atlanta |
6. | Philadelphia |
7. | Cleveland |
8. | New England |
9. | Green Bay |
10. | Washington |
11. | New Orleans |
12. | Buffalo |
13. | Miami |
14. | Carolina |
15. | Kansas City |
16. | Arizona |
17. | Chicago |
18. | Tampa Bay |
19. | Detroit |
20. | Denver |
21. | San Francisco |
22. | LA Chargers |
23. | Baltimore |
24. | Minnesota |
25. | Cincinnati |
26. | Jacksonville |
27. | LA Rams |
28. | NY Jets |
29. | Houston |
30. | NY Giants |
31. | Seattle |
32. | Indianapolis |