The offensive line story was one that ended up on the cutting room floor of the preseason annual. But it has its fans, so we're running it here. We ran the top 16 yesterday; here now are lines 17-32.
Projected starters (LT-LG-C-RG-RT) for each team are shown, as well as our ranking of each at their position. A note on the rankings: expectations of missing time due to injury is factored in. New England's Cole Strange, reportedly, is expected to miss at least the start of the season. New Jets tackle Tyron Smith (in yesterday's article, which has been updated with these players and rankings) hasn't played more than 13 games in a season since 2016. So those players are affected negatively.
17. Carolina Panthers
Ikem Ekwonu - 30th
Damien Lewis - 10th
Austin Corbett - 23rd
Robert Hunt - 7th
Taylor Moton - 7th
The Panthers are spending more on this positional group than any other team. With them having an undersized quarterback, he’s more dependent than most on getting serviceable protection and time to operate. Early in free agency they handed Robert Hunt (pictured) and Damien Lewis contracts worth a combined $153 million, with about half that total guaranteed. While they’re not difference-making guards, they’ll dramatically improve the interior of the line. The team has run it better than you’d expect anyway, and that high-priced guard duo should help keep that going. Now they need a big step up from Ikem Ekwonu; they selected him with the No. 6 pick of the 2022 draft but have been unable to get him going. The line is also trying a new center (Austin Corbett, a guard previously). A lot better than a year ago, but probably still a player or two away.
18. Baltimore Ravens
Ronnie Stanley - 12th
Andrew Vorhees - 31st
Tyler Linderbaum - 3rd
Ben Cleveland - 27th
Roger Rosengarten - 27th
For a team as reliant on its ground game (and MVP quarterback) as Baltimore, there are some risks being taken on the line. Three of last year’s starters are gone via trade or free agency, while the replacements – taken from the last few drafts – have a combined seven starts. They’re younger and cheaper, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be as good. Only Roger Rosengarten, selected 62nd overall and expected to replace Morgan Moses, was drafted in the first two rounds, and only one of the holdovers, Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, is a sure thing. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley would be, except he’s missed more than half the team’s games the past four seasons (at least four absences in all of those years).
19. New England Patriots
Chukwuma Okorafor - 29th
Cole Strange - 21st
David Andrews - 7th
Sidy Sow - 19th
Michael Onwenu - 6th
This line would be higher if it were certain Cole Strange (coming off a serious knee injury) would be healthy at the start of the season. Reports around the team cast doubt on that; they might be opening with a backup. When healthy, Strange and Sidy Sow (last year’s fourth-rounder) constitute a strong young duo on either side of mainstay center David Andrews. After moving Michael Onwenu around his first few seasons, they stuck with him at right tackle last year and were rewarded with a strong season; they handed him a three-year, $57 million contract in March. They’ll try Chukwuma Okorafor at the other spot, but that looks unlikely to work out (Pittsburgh benched him last year; he signed a one-year deal with a max value of $4 million).
20. Minnesota Vikings
Christian Darrisaw - 9th
Dalton Risner - 29th
Garrett Bradbury - 19th
Ed Ingram - 23rd
Brian O'Neill - 10th
The Vikings gain some points for continuity. They’ll have the same five starters as they had for most of last year – including four homegrown first- or second-rounders – and those guys fronted one of the league’s top passing games, even with backup quarterbacks playing a good chunk of the season. But a lot of key metrics are poor: only nine teams allowed more sacks, and only eight averaged fewer yards per carry. Now they’ll be taking a step back at quarterback, with some combination of Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy. The tackles (Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neil) look best, sack totals notwithstanding, and maybe the poor rushing numbers can be blamed partly on the backs, who they’ve upgraded from with Aaron Jones. But seemingly a below-average group.
21. Cincinnati Bengals
Orlando Brown - 11th
Cordell Volson - 26th
Ted Karras - 20th
Alex Cappa - 9th
Trent Brown - 24th
The Bengals lost right tackle Jonah Williams in free agency. They patched that hole with Trent Brown, who’s making a third as much. That’s a gamble, with Brown missing at least five games in four of the past five seasons, but they have an insurance policy in first-rounder Amarius Mims. And maybe change is good anyway (only six teams allowed more sacks last year). Regardless, the lean is they’ll be OK at tackle (Orlando Brown is the other starter, and he’s been to four of the last five Pro Bowls). Alex Cappa makes above-average money for a guard, but overall the interior is suspect (the team has struggled to run the ball).
22. Dallas Cowboys
Tyler Guyton - 26th
Tyler Smith - 4th
Brock Hoffman - 31st
Zack Martin - 2nd
Terence Steele - 28th
The Cowboys have had a lot of luck with linemen named Tyler, with a pair of them (Smith and Biadasz) going to Pro Bowls the past two seasons. They’ll hope their latest top pick, Tyler Guyton (replacing Tyron Smith) can keep that string going, and also that seven-time All Pro Zack Martin has a year or two of excellence left (he’s 33). But salary cap realities (including the departure of Biadasz) have them counting on a couple of originally undrafted starters now in Brock Hoffman and Terence Steele. Hoffman has some big shoes to fill but has made only two career starts. There are more questions than usual here.
23. Arizona Cardinals
Jonah Williams - 13th
Evan Brown - 32nd
Hjalte Froholdt - 27th
Will Hernandez - 17th
Paris Johnson - 5th
The Cardinals have an above-average pair of tackles. Paris Johnson, the No. 6 overall pick a year ago, came as advertised, improving as the season wore on. And they signed Jonah Williams to a contract averaging $15 million a year (a move prompted by D.J. Humphries tearing his ACL in Week 17). The concerns are inside. Right guard Will Hernandez is probably the best interior player, and he’s making a modest salary. Center Hjalte Froholdt is a former fourth-rounder and Evan Brown originally undrafted, and they’ve been with three and five teams, respectively, in five seasons. Third-rounder Isaiah Adams could push for Brown’s spot.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
Broderick Jones - 17th
Isaac Seumalo - 14th
Zach Frazier - 24th
James Daniels - 10th
Troy Fautanu - 26th
If they’ve drafted well, Pittsburgh will have an improved line. They’ve used their last two first-round picks on tackles, Broderick Jones (who started the second half of last season, with the team’s rushing production improving by 52 yards per game) and Troy Fautanu. They selected Zach Frazier in the second round in April, and he’ll probably start at center. Expecting all those players to hit would be optimistic (and factors into their low ranking), but maybe. Contracts suggest they have an average guard duo (James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo both make about $8 million per year). It’s the rookies that will determine how good this line is.
25. New York Giants
Andrew Thomas - 4th
Jermaine Eluemunor - 19th
John Michael Schmitz - 29th
Jon Runyan - 8th
Evan Neal - 31st
Recognizing an obvious problem area – this team allowed an absurd 85 sacks last season, 2nd-most in league history – the Giants signed Jon Runyan (3 years, $30 million) away from the Packers and Jermaine Eluemunor (2 years, $14 million) away from Raiders. With Andrew Thomas an All-Pro candidate, that’s three spots that can be safely checked off. The other two, however, remain liabilities. The team is cautiously optimistic about John Michael Schmitz, the center they drafted in the second round last year. Evan Neal has missed 14 games his first two seasons and struggled when healthy. This line could hardly be worse than a year ago, but average is probably still elusive.
26. Miami Dolphins
Terron Armstead - 16th
Isaiah Wynn - 15th
Aaron Brewer - 26th
Robert Jones - 25th
Austin Jackson - 18th
Injuries and free agency have combined to destroy this group. Terron Armstead is a Pro Bowler when he’s on the field, but moving from the Saints to the Dolphins hasn’t made him more durable (he’s missed 20 of 51 games the past three years). That extensive injury history is built into his grade. The line’s best player last year, Robert Hunt, signed for big money with Carolina, while the other guard, Isaiah Wynn, has also battled injuries (he’s missed half of his last two seasons). There will be a new center, former Titan Aaron Brewer, after Connor Williams tore his ACL in December. The scheme and the skill-position talent are good enough to overcome some of these issues, but the line is not an asset these days.
27. Las Vegas Raiders
Kolton Miller - 8th
Jackson Powers-Johnson - 24th
Andre James - 16th
Dylan Parham - 21st
Thayer Munford - 30th
This line was playing well at the end of last season, and re-signing center Andre James in free agency was a plus. But two other starters departed, so they’ll be breaking in a couple of new ones, probably second-rounder Jackson Powers-Johnson and former seventh-rounder Thayer Munford. (“Probably” because they have a couple of veterans on cheap contracts, Andrus Peat and Cody Whitehair, who are also possibilities.) Kolton Miller has emerged as a strong left tackle (he’s the league’s 7th-highest paid player at the position), but none of the other starters will definitely be better than average. Dylan Parham is a modest guard, but he’s started all 34 games since the Raiders picked him up in the third round in 2022.
28. Tennessee Titans
JC Latham - 21st
Peter Skoronski - 17th
Lloyd Cushenberry - 6th
Saahdiq Charles - 28th
Nicholas Petit-Frere - 29th
The Titans’ offseason additions at skill positions are offset by a suspect line. A year ago, only the Giants allowed sacks on a higher percentage of pass plays. They haven’t invested much money in it (only the Seahawks are spending less on their line) and their recent draft picks are still unknowns. But they’re trying, using the 7th and 11th picks of the last two drafts on Peter Skoronski and JC Latham, while also bringing in respected line coach Bill Callahan (the head coach’s father). They signed Lloyd Cushenberry away from Denver, another solid move. They look certain to struggle on the right side, with Nicholas Petit-Frere and Saahdiq Charles thus far struggling to get their careers going. Charles started only 18 games in four years with Washington (signing a one-year deal worth only $1.5 million).
29. Chicago Bears
Braxton Jones - 19th
Teven Jenkins - 30th
Ryan Bates - 28th
Nate Davis - 12th
Darnell Wright - 19th
The Bears gave Caleb Williams some nice receivers to work with, but they’re crossing their fingers on the line. Ryan Bates from Buffalo is the main addition; he started one season, but the Bills were willing to let him leave for just a fifth-round pick. They’ve got youngsters starting at tackle, with Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright picked in the fifth and first rounds the last two years. Jones spent six weeks on IR last last year but otherwise has started every game since they picked him. Wright made the All-Rookie team last year (which is another way of saying he started as a rookie and wasn’t a disaster). … The Bears thought enough of Nate Davis a year ago to sign him to a three-year deal averaging $10 million. The other guard is Teven Jenkins, a former first-round pick who got kicked inside after not working out at tackle.
30. Washington Commanders
Cornelius Lucas - 32nd
Nick Allegretti - 22nd
Tyler Biadasz - 5th
Sam Cosmi - 29th
Andrew Wylie - 21st
Washington signed two notable free agents, Tyler Biadasz and Nick Allegretti. Both should be upgrades on one of the league’s worst lines a year ago, especially Biadasz (Allegretti was primarily a backup in Kansas City; Washington is paying him just over $5 million, roughly average for a guard). But that’s the extent of the good news. They brought back Cornelius Lucas at left tackle, but the size of his contract ($4 million) suggests he didn’t have much of a market. The right side (Sam Cosmi, and last year’s free agent addition from Kansas City, Andrew Wylie) could also use an upgrade, but third-rounder Brandon Coleman seems like a modest addition. Protecting a thinly built rookie quarterback who likes to run, this line will have its work cut out for it.
31. New Orleans Saints
Taliese Fuaga - 24th
Oli Udoh - 27th
Erik McCoy - 14th
Cesar Ruiz - 14th
Trevor Penning - 32nd
Age and self-inflicted cap woes have taken a toll on what was once one of the league’s best lines. They’ll probably start three first-rounders, but Trevor Penning will be there only because Ryan Ramczyk (knee) might wind up retiring. Penning thus far is looking like a whiff, starting only 5 of 17 games last year. They drafted Taliese Fuaga 14th overall, but even if he excels from the start that’s just one spot. Another pair of high picks (Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz) start on the inside, but neither has been great. The Saints averaged only 3.6 yards per carry last year, 3rd-worst in the league.
32. Seattle Seahawks
Charles Cross - 27th
Laken Tomlinson - 20th
Olu Oluwatimi - 30th
Anthony Bradford - 24th
Abraham Lucas - 20th
No team is spending less on its line than Seattle, and it shows. They’re also starting just one of their own former first- or second-round picks, Charles Cross, who hasn’t emerged as the player they hoped for when they selected him 9th overall. The other tackle they selected in 2022, Abraham Lucas, was actually better as a rookie but missed two thirds of last year with a knee injury. The Seahawks have little choice but to stick with those guys, hoping they come around. They’re trying last year’s fifth-rounder Olu Oluwatimi at center; untested (he started one game), but they’ve spoken favorably of him. And it will be another mid-round pick (Anthony Bradford) at right guard; he closed out last season as a starter. The Seahawks in May were talking up the leadership abilities of free-agent Laken Tomlinson, but he’s 32 and signed a one-year deal for close to the minimum, underscoring that his best ball is well in the past.
Previously: Offensive Lines 1-16.
If you are a purchaser of the 2024 magazine, this full report is also available as a PDF in magazine format in the Your Stuff section.