RADIO
Dan Fornek evaluates the best and worst offensive lines in the NFL to provide insight to fantasy football managers ahead of Week 10 of the 2021 season.
Week 9 finished as one of the most frustrating fantasy football weeks in a long time thanks to a lack of scoring across the league. Offenses we have come to rely on (Buffalo, Kansas City, Dallas) failed to provide much fantasy value. Teams that we have avoided this year (New York Jets, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears) had players who produced solid fantasy days. All-in-all, Week 9 will soon be forgotten by fantasy managers counting on major performances from their early-round picks.
There were several great performances and key injuries across offensive lines in Week 9. The Colts, Patriots, and Chargers continued to use stellar offensive line play to move the ground and impose their will in the trenches. The Dolphins, Titans, and Giants continued to struggle across the offensive line but were able to capture key victories. Numerous teams were hit hard by the injury bug. Carolina lost their starting left tackle (Cam Erving) and center (Matt Paradis). The Broncos lost their starting right guard (Graham Glasgow) and right tackle (Bobby Massie). And most importantly, the 49ers lost one of their better players, right tackle Mike McGlinchey, for the season.
Looking ahead to Week 10, we have four teams on bye once again (Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, New York Giants). Now that we are over halfway through the NFL regular season, this article will focus on one champ performance and one chump performance of the week. From there, I’ll break down the matchups to target and avoid across the trenches so you can make the important waiver adds and lineup decisions to push for a fantasy championship.
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Champ of the Week
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers didn’t finish Week 9 with the top overall blocking grade according to PFF (they were third behind New England and Indianapolis), but their performance against the Eagles was by far the most impressive group effort of the week. The Eagles came into the game as a top-5 pass-rushing team thanks to 122 pressures, 17 sacks, 31 quarterback hits, and 74 hurries. The combination of Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, Fletcher Cox, Derek Barnett, and Ryan Kerrigan have combined to produce 71% of those statistics. In Week 9, that group (and the Eagles defensive line as a whole) was completely shut down by the Chargers’ offensive line unit.
Storm Norton (62 pass-blocking grade, one hurry, one pressure) was the only offensive lineman who had below a 74-pass blocking grade on the day as he continues to struggle against athletic edge rushers. Back-up right guard Michael Schofield III (53.7 overall blocking grade, two hurries, two pressures) had a strong day despite his overall grade considering he consistently faced off with Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave. No other offensive linemen allowed a hurry or pressure on the day. Rookie Rashawn Slater continued his stellar left tackle play, finishing second on the team in pass blocking grade (82), run-blocking grade (81), and overall grade (83.7) according to PFF.
The Chargers’ exceptional blocking allowed Justin Herbert and the passing attack to get back on track (84% completion percentage for 356 passing yards and two touchdowns) against a defense that has done better against the pass than the run in 2021. If the Chargers can continue to block at that high of a level, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in a wide-open AFC.
Chump of the Week
Tennessee Titans
The Titans secured an impressive win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night despite missing Derrick Henry in the run game. On the surface, the lopsided score would suggest a strong day from the offense, however, they were gifted short fields (and a defensive touchdown) by the Rams’ offensive miscues. The Titans offensive line struggled against the Rams' defensive front, finishing the week with a 47.36 average overall blocking grade according to PFF. The Titans were able to muster just 143 passing yards and averaged 2.7 yards per carry despite scoring 28 points.
Only one Titan (center Ben Jones) finished with a pass-blocking, run-blocking, and overall blocking grade above a 57. Aaron Brewer, Tennessee’s backup right guard (Nate Davis was out with a concussion), also did well, finishing with a 74.2 pass-blocking grade and a 55.5 overall blocking grade for the Titans. The Titans were without Taylor Lewan this week and Bobby Hart struggled mightily. Hart finished with a 25.5 pass-blocking grade, a 39.6 run-blocking grade, and a 30.3 overall blocking grade while allowing two sacks, four hurries, and six pressures. The Titans' offensive line will need to get healthy going forward if they are going to stay atop of the AFC without the catalyst of their offense.
Matchups to Target
Indianapolis Colts vs Jacksonville Jaguars
The Indianapolis Colts are rolling thanks to their concentrated effort to get Jonathan Taylor the ball as much as possible. Indianapolis’ running back had his best game of the season on Thursday night against the Jets, carrying the ball 19 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns while adding two receptions for 28 yards. In his last four games, Taylor has 67 carries for 494 yards and six touchdowns behind an offensive line that is finally healthy and starting to click.
The Colts’ offensive line was fantastic against a solid, but unspectacular Jets defensive line in Week 9. As a unit, the Colts allowed just one quarterback hit, two hurries, and three pressures on the day. Four of their offensive linemen finished with a pass-blocking grade above 75 according to PFF. All five of their linemen graded out with at least a 63 overall grade. The only offensive linemen that struggled were Mark Glowinski and Chris Reed, the two players who rotated in at right guard and were forced to match up against Quinnen Williams for the entire evening.
Braden Smith, the Colts’ starting right tackle, did suffer an injury during the game, which does warrant monitoring. But if he is good to go, then the Colts have another great matchup against divisional rival Jacksonville in Week 10. The Jaguars played lights out on Sunday in an upset victory over the Bills, but are still a middle-of-the-road defense. Jacksonville ranks 15th in run-defense grades (57.3) and 22nd in pass rush grades (67.6) this season.
The Jaguars have a deep roster of edge rushers, but struggle to get pressure up the middle, which could mean another big day on the ground for the Colts. Jonathan Taylor, Carson Wentz, and Michael Pittman Jr. are locked and loaded starters this week. Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox have appeal at tight end in a pinch and Nyheim Hines has enough of a role on offense to warrant a FLEX play if needed.
Los Angeles Chargers vs Minnesota Vikings
If you want a breakdown of what went right for the Chargers last week, just scroll up and check out my champ of the week. With that being said, the Chargers are in an excellent position to have another massive day on offense against the Vikings in Week 10. The Vikings' defense was impressive in their first half against Baltimore in Week 9 before ultimately falling off in the second half and overtime. Minnesota was able to generate 20 pressures, five sacks, four hits, and 11 hurries against Baltimore when all was said and done. Baltimore has a solid offensive line (13th in average overall blocking grade according to PFF in 2021), but the Chargers have been one of the best units in the league over the past few weeks. Additionally, Minnesota will be without their top edge rusher (Danielle Hunter) who is out for the year with an injury. Everson Griffin (30 pressures, five sacks, five hits, 20 hurries) primarily plays on the defensive right side, giving him the more difficult assignment against Rashawn Slater.
On the season, Minnesota is giving up 18.3 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, 20.1 points per game to running backs, 26.7 points per game to wide receivers, and 4.7 points per game to tight ends. Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, Mike Williams, and Keenan Allen are all must-plays thanks to the high-level performance of the offensive line and their matchups. Jared Cook is likely a back-end TE1 thanks to his role in the offense and Donald Parham is a desperation tight end play thanks to his role in the red zone and touchdown upside.
Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins
The Ravens' offensive line had their struggles against the Vikings early on Sunday but rebounded to post a solid day according to PFF. Only one offensive lineman (Kevin Zeitler) had a pass-blocking grade above a 63, but Baltimore was able to grind on the ground to eventually open up deep plays for Lamar Jackson and Marquise Brown through the air. Four of Baltimore’s offensive linemen finished the game with an overall blocking grade above 67. Tyre Phillips was filling in for Patrick Mekari at right tackle this week and struggled in pass protection, giving up one quarterback hit, two hurries, and three pressures on the day.
Miami’s defensive line has struggled this season, leading to them having one of the highest blitz rates (29.1%, sixth overall) this season. The reliance on blitzing has created passing lanes in the secondary, leading Miami to surrender the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season (27.4 points per game). Miami is also allowing 8.3 points per game to tight ends and 19.9 points per game to quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson, Marquise Brown, and Mark Andrews are must-starts this week given the matchup. Given bye weeks, Rashod Bateman should once again have FLEX upside. Devonta Freeman led the backfield last week thanks to a Latavius Murray injury, but if Murray is healthy enough to play then it is hard to trust any of the Baltimore running backs at this time.
Matchups to Avoid
Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals
Arizona’s defense was coming into Week 9 with a matchup against a run-heavy team with a strong offensive line while missing two of their best players on offense (Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins) and arguably their best run defender on the defensive line (J.J. Watt). They responded in a big way, generating 22 pressures, five sacks, three quarterback hits, and 14 hurries. They also shut down the run game, allowing just 11 carries for 39 yards on the day. All of that is bad news for the Panthers.
Carolina’s offensive line was already struggling heading into Week 9, ranking as the 30th unit based on average pass blocking grades throughout the season and the 27th ranked offensive line overall. In Week 9, they lost both their starting left tackle Cam Erving (short term IR, calf injury) and their starting center Matt Paradis (ACL tear, season-ending) for the foreseeable future. Their starting right guard was also out for the game and his backup (Trent Scott) finished with a 47.4 overall blocking grade according to PFF. That led to another rough day for Sam Darnold in the passing attack.
Arizona comes into this game as PFF’s sixth-best pass rush in the NFL (80.3 grade according to PFF). Arizona generates pressure primarily through Markus Golden (31 pressures, nine sacks, 16 hurries) and Chandler Jones (24 pressures, six sacks, 16 hurries), but they have 20 players on defense with at least one pressure on the season. Carolina will be without at least two of their starting offensive linemen and potentially Sam Darnold. Outside of Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore, their offense can be avoided in Week 10.
New York Jets vs Buffalo Bills
The Jets' offensive line has been solid throughout 2021 if you combine their averages throughout the season. After Week 9, they rank as the 16th graded pass pass-blocking (62.85), 12th best run-blocking (65), and 11th overall blocking unit (64.95) despite missing their star-left tackle Mekhi Becton for most of the season. Despite the lofty ranking, Week 9 was a rough one for the Jets. Indianapolis came into the game as a top-10 unit in terms of pass-rushing to PFF. New York allowed just two sacks (both from their center), three quarterback hits, 15 hurries, and 20 pressures on the day. Despite that, third-string quarterback Josh Johnson was able to have the best game of his 12-year career. Johnson completed 65% of his passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns against an overmatched Colts’ secondary.
Unfortunately for the Jets, their Week 10 opponent has a strong pass rush and a great secondary behind it.
On the season, Buffalo has generated 150 pressures, 19 sacks, 25 hits, and 106 hurries. The Bills utilize a formidable edge rush rotation between Jerry Hughes, Gregory Rousseau, Mario Addison, and A.J. Epenesa to collapse the pocket and force quarterbacks to rush throws. Those four players have combined for 74 pressures, nine sacks, 11 hits, and 54 hurries on the season. The Jets' offensive line has performed well this year, but their tackles (George Fant and Morgan Moses) are the weakest positions of the five.
Both Zach Wilson and Mike White (if healthy) will be tough to play this week. Buffalo has shut down opposing rushing attacks as well, making Ty Johnson and Michael Carter a FLEX play with pass-catching upside. Corey Davis (if healthy), Jamison Crowder, Elijah Moore, and Keelan Cole are nothing more than WR4/FLEX desperation plays against a Bills defense that is allowing just 13 fantasy points per game to wide receivers on the year.
Denver Broncos vs Philadelphia Eagles
The Broncos had a huge win in Week 9 against the Cowboys, but unfortunately, their offensive line suffered. Denver was already without starting left tackle Garrett Bolles (ankle), and then lost their starting right guard (Graham Glasgow) and right tackle (Bobby Massie) to ankle injuries as well. Their backups played extremely well against Dallas, allowing just one hit and one pressure between them. However, the Broncos were able to use a strong defensive effort to stake an early lead and then used their running game to bleed the clock.
If the Broncos’ offensive linemen aren’t ready for next week, they could be in for a rough day in Week 10. Philadelphia’s pass rushers were held in check by the Chargers last week, but still, rank seventh according to PFF in terms of pass rush (78.6). Unless Denver can race out to another early lead, they may struggle to keep their quarterback upright against one of the best pass-rushing defensive lines in the NFL, especially starting three backup linemen. Teddy Bridgewater is a high-end QB2 this week thanks to his weapons and the matchup. Both Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams are strong starts considering how much the Eagles have struggled against the run this season (21.3 points per game). Courtland Sutton will likely draw Darius Slay in coverage (if he’s healthy), making Tim Patrick and Jerry Jeudy the better pass-catching options. If Noah Fant is activated off the COVID list, he should be in a smash spot against the worst defense in fantasy against tight ends this season (12.3 points per game).
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