RADIO
Dan Fornek evaluates the best and worst offensive lines in the NFL to provide insight to fantasy football managers ahead of Week 12 of the 2021 season.
Week 11 wasn’t fantastic on offense for numerous teams. A lot of those issues stemmed from subpar offensive line play. 10 of 30 teams finished last week with an overall blocking average under 60 according to PFF. By comparison, only five teams finished with an overall blocking average above 70. Throughout the season, defenses have shown a greater ability to stop the ball this season and that was perfectly captured during Week 11.
Unfortunately, Week 11 featured several significant injuries across offensive lines. The Packers lost their best offensive linemen, Elgton Jenkins, to a torn ACL during a tough loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Jenkins had been filling in at left tackle for David Bakhtiari, who had a recent setback from his knee injury last season. Jenkins was playing stellar at tackle and has already shown to be one of the top guards in the league, so his loss could have a significant impact on Green Bay’s offense. Additionally, Quenton Nelson aggravated his ankle injury from earlier in the year, an injury that cost him a couple of games. The Colts' run game has been stellar (and continued to be against the Bills), but an extended absence from Nelson could lead to a drop-off along the offensive line. Finally, Washington lost another center to injury, forcing Wes Schweitzer to move from guard to center and leaving Washington thin across the offensive line. The Football Team had been one of the better units in the NFL this season, but are now facing a stretch run of tough defensive lines without several starting pieces.
Looking ahead to Week 12, we have just two teams with a significant fantasy presence on bye (Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals). 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
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts' offensive line was a force of nature against the Buffalo Bills, leading to a shocking win as a seven-point underdog. The Colts had a modest performance pass-blocking according to PFF (52.2 average blocking grade), but they were stellar in the run blocking game. Indianapolis had four offensive linemen who scored at least a 79 run-blocking grade, which led to a huge day for Jonathan Taylor. The second-year running back had 32 carries for 185 yards and four touchdowns and added three receptions for 19 yards and an additional touchdown. When all was said and done, the Colts had a combined overall blocking grade of 76.7 according to PFF, the second-best mark in Week 11.
One thing to monitor going forward: Quenton Nelson re-aggravated his ankle injury, forcing him to leave after 44 snaps. Nelson already missed some time with a high-ankle injury, but luckily for Indianapolis Chris Reed has plenty of experience playing in his place this year. Reed struggled in pass protection against the Bills (25.2 pass-blocking grade, one hurry, and pressure allowed). The Colts will have their work cut out from them, especially on the interior against a strong Tampa Bay defensive line.
Chump of the Week
Houston Texans
Houston’s offensive line continues to be a mess as they try to navigate a variety of injuries to their starters. Houston is currently missing starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil, right tackle Marcus Cannon, and center Justin Britt. Their backups have been mediocre at best. Houston didn’t allow a sack or hit against the Titans in a surprising upset victory in Week 11. However, they did surrender eight total hurries and pressures. Only two linemen had a pass-blocking grade above 53. However, Houston struggled mightily in the run game. Only one offensive lineman (right guard Justin McCary) finished with a run-blocking grade above 42 according to PFF. All five offensive linemen finished with an average overall grade above 50, leading to a combined average score of 45.7 on the day. No other offensive line finished with a grade below a 50.
The New York Jets will be coming into town next week, which would be a great matchup for most teams. However, the Jets have gotten solid contributions from John Franklin-Myers (36 pressures, 25 hurries, four sacks) and Quinnen Williams (28 pressures, 19 hurries, six sacks) on the defensive line. With Houston’s offensive line in flux, that could mean a bad day in what should be a good matchup.
Matchups to Target
Los Angeles Chargers vs Denver Broncos
The new pieces of the Chargers’ offensive line continue to gel and grow together which is causing their offense to take off. The left side of the Los Angeles line continues to be the anchor of their team in the run and pass game. Rookie left tackle Rashawn Slater (87.6 pass grade, 55.6 run grade, 72.8 overall blocking grade) and left guard Matt Feiler (67.4 pass grade, 70.7 run grade, 71.4 overall grade) once again finished as the top two offensive linemen for the Chargers. The right side of the line has had their struggles this year, and they continued in a tough matchup against a Steelers defense missing their top pass rusher (T.J. Watt). Both Michael Schofield (right guard) and Storm Norton (right tackle) failed to score above 54 in their run blocking and overall blocking grades this week.
The Chargers should have an easier matchup this week against a Denver defense trying to find their identity after the Von Miller trade. Denver is coming off their bye, but struggled defensively against Philadelphia back in Week 10, generating just 10 pressures, two sacks, one quarterback hit, and seven hurries in a 30-13 loss. Philadelphia was able to dominate on the ground in that game, carrying the ball 39 times for 216 yards. Jalen Hurts also added 178 passing yards and two touchdowns. Denver has one of the best secondaries in the NFL this season, but coverage can only last so long without a pass rush. Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen, and Mike Williams are all excellent plays this week, especially if the Chargers can continue to provide Justin Herbert with a strong pocket.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Atlanta Falcons
Jacksonville’s offense is an absolute mess, but their offensive line has had periods of strong play. Unfortunately, they did not show up against San Francisco in Week 11. On the positive side, Jacksonville allowed just two sacks, three quarterback hits, four hurries, and nine pressures against San Francisco. However, those statistics did not translate into strong grades from PFF. Only Cam Robinson (80.8) finished with a pass-blocking grade above 75. All five of their offensive linemen failed to score a run-blocking grade above 60. Jacksonville only threw for 158 yards and averaged just 3.4 yards per carry against the 49ers in Week 11.
Things aren’t great in Jacksonville, but they have an excellent chance to try and capture some positive momentum in their Week 12 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. According to PFF, Atlanta has the worst pass-rushing grade in the NFL (58.5) and the 11th worst run defense (49.3) this season. Only one Falcons’ pass rushers have more than 20 pressures on the season. They also don’t have a defensive lineman with more than three sacks, six quarterback hits, or 20 hurries. Additionally, Atlanta is allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (20.4), the fifth-most points per game to running backs (21.3), and the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers (24.6) this year. Trevor Lawrence, James Robinson, Marvin Jones Jr., and Dan Arnold are strong plays this week, and Lavsika Shenault has FLEX upside given the Jamal Agnew injury.
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
Nothing will feel good about starting a Chicago Bears offensive player against the Detroit defense, but they can have some value against a bad Lions team on a short week of practice. Chicago has seemingly found a consistent offensive line combination in recent weeks, starting Jason Peters, Cody Whitehair, Sam Mustipher, James Daniels, and rookie Larry Borom every game since Week 8. Borom has struggled as a late-round draft pick thrust into the starting lineup, but the linemen around him have mostly risen to the occasion. If you combine all their games played, Chicago ranks 14th in pass blocking grades, 19th in run blocking grades, and 16th in overall blocking grades according to PFF this season.
The loss of Justin Fields hurts the offense heading into a short week against Detroit, but it shouldn’t matter too much in terms of the matchup. Detroit ranks in the bottom-10 this season in PFF’s pass-rushing (66.3), run defense (46.2), and coverage (33.3) grades this season. Romeo Okwara still ranks second on the team in total pressures and hurries this season despite not playing since Week 4. David Montgomery and Darnell Mooney are must start this week. Andy Dalton has upside in 2QB and Superflex leagues and Cole Kmet could have a strong day with Dalton under center. If Allen Robinson is healthy enough to play, he enters the FLEX conversation with a new quarterback under center that has less mobility and arm strength than Fields.
Matchups to Avoid
New York Giants vs Philadelphia Eagles
On the plus side: the Giants were able to get starting left tackle Andrew Thomas back from injury in Week 11. As a bonus, he scored a touchdown!
On the minus side, the Giants' offensive line still collectively struggled in Monday’s 30-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New York’s offensive line surrendered three sacks, two quarterback hits, 12 hurries, and 17 pressures against Tampa Bay. Starting right guard Will Hernandez continued to struggle this year, finishing the game with a 6.1 pass blocking grade, a pass-blocking grade, and a 28.7 overall grade according to PFF. In total, the interior of the Giants’ offensive line surrendered one sack, two quarterback hits, 10 hurries, and 13 pressures on the day. Unfortunately for the Giants, things won’t be getting any easier in Week 12. The Eagles come into town off the back of a dominating victory and boasting PFF’s second-best pass-rushing grade (81.9) this season. The combination of Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox on the interior have 59 pressures, six sacks, 10 quarterback hits, and 43 hurries on the season.
Outside of Saquon Barkley (who is a pure volume play in PPR leagues), it is hard to trust any of the Giants' offensive weapons considering Daniel Jones will be under pressure most of the game. As we saw in Week 11, that can be a recipe for disaster in fantasy matchups.
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team
Seattle’s offense has looked bad since Russell Wilson came back from his finger injury and rehab. Part of the problem has been the play of their offensive line. They particularly struggled against Arizona on Sunday in the passing game. All five of Seattle’s offensive linemen failed to score above a 75 in their pass blocking grades from PFF this week. Seattle allowed two sacks, four hurries, and six pressures against a defense still trying to find their way without J.J. Watt. While the left side of the offensive line graded out well as overall blockers (73.1 average grade), everybody else struggled. Center Ethan Pocic (56.1 overall blocking grade), right guard Gabe Jackson (65.4), and right tackle Brandon Shell (57.1) all had below-average days in the loss.
The Seahawks have an important game coming up against the Washington Football Team. Washington has been without their top two edge rushers the last few weeks but has still performed well upfront against opposing offenses. The combination of Jonathan Allen (four pressures, one quarterback hit, three hurries) and Daron Payne (two pressures, one sack, one hit) were strong up the middle, leading to a big victory against Carolina. Washington’s struggle against the opposing offenses in the passing game isn’t a secret, but with Russell Wilson still knocking off the rust and poor interior play, it will be hard to trust him again this week. D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett remain must start given their explosive play ability, but Russ should find a spot on the bench again until he can put together a good game.
Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys
The Raiders held their own against Cincinnati’s defensive line in a 32-13 loss that dropped Las Vegas to a 5-5 record. Las Vegas had a lackluster offensive performance but did well across the offensive line. Four of the offensive linemen finished the day with a pass-blocking grade of at least 69. Vegas allowed just one sack, three quarterback hits, six hurries, and 10 pressures against a Cincinnati defensive line that had been disruptive all season. Additionally, every Raiders’ linemen finished Week 11 with a run-blocking grade of at least 72 and an overall blocking grade above 74.
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, they’ll be getting a whole different test this upcoming week. The Cowboys have been consistently playing without Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory this season, but are still generating an impressive pass rush thanks to Tarell Basham and rookie Micah Parsons. That duo combined to generate 11 pressures, two sacks, three hits, and six hurries against a stellar Chiefs defense in Week 11. Dallas currently ranks eighth on PFF with a 78 pass-rushing grade and a 70.7 coverage grade. Darren Waller is the only player for Las Vegas that can be trusted weekly in fantasy lineups, but Derek Carr is a safe QB2 and Josh Jacobs gets the volume to finish as a top-24 running back every week.
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