RADIO
With Week 7 in the books, we have a new team in the top five offensive lines! Good offensive line play gives a team the best chance to be effective. However, a lot of fantasy owners completely overlook its importance to identify the reasons behind a player's struggles. Is he being handicapped by the protection ahead of him and actually performing as well as they can, or are they struggling despite effective play from their offensive line?
Using PFF's player grading tool, each week I will identify an offensive line that has been trending up, and one trending down. More importantly, I will analyze how those trends might be affecting, or might be about to affect your fantasy roster over the next few weeks.
If you want to look at the raw data and my applied method, feel free to message me on Twitter @RichKingFF - I'm happy to share!
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Offensive Line to Watch - New Orleans Saints
Pass Blocking
The blueprint for the New Orleans Saints offense is the ability to move the ball- historically using the arm of Drew Brees. However, this season, without Brees, they have had to go about things a little differently.
The Saints offensive line is built around their two tackles, with both of them ranking in the top-10 in the league up to this point. Let that sink in, this offensive line boasts two of the top-10 tackles in the league. That is so important in allowing their receivers to have the time to run the designed route and gives the quarterback the time to choose his pass. Combine that with Erik McCoy who is the fourth-best player in the league at pass blocking and you have the makings of a strong unit.
If there is a chink in the armor it is the play of their guards. Both Andrus Peat and Larry Warford rank outside of the top-50 of guards in the league, and it was the interior of the line where Aaron Donald broke through in the hit to Brees that caused his hand injury. However, there is enough strength overall on this line that it has allowed Teddy Bridgewater to perform above expectations as Brees' backup. With Brees looking likely to return under center soon, the rest of the league needs to watch out.
Run Blocking
Run blocking is a different challenge for the Saints. The line is still an elite unit, but not as good as it is at pass blocking.
Tackle Ryan Ramczyk is again one of the best players in the league, ranking behind only La'el Collins. However, Terron Armstead is only just in the top-40 of tackles in the league. So while the line boasts two good tackles, they aren't as strong in this facet of the game. On the plus side, rookie Erik McCoy again ranks fourth in the league when it comes to run blocking.
Their guard position is again their weakness, but this time it is focused on their left guard Andrus Peat who barely ranks in the top-100 of all guards in the league. That is potentially one reason for the struggles we see from Armstead, as he is possibly to be trying to make half a block on Peat's assignment as well as his own. However, with Larry Warford ranking inside the top-15 guards in the league, the Saints do have an effective unit on the right of their offensive line that they are able to utilize.
Fantasy Impact
Trust: Everyone?
I don't think I've listed everyone before as a trust, but it's hard not to. Receivers Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn are able to do their job in running routes, while the quarterback is able to pick their pass and let the play develop. The Saints also boast one of the most electric runners in the game in Alvin Kamara. If the Saints do feel rushed into making a pass they are able to use one of the best open runners in the league as a dump-off option.
The running game is also healthy, with Latavius Murray putting up a great performance after Alvin Kamara missed the Bears game through injury. Fantasy owners should feel confident in starting all of the skill position players on this roster.
Cause for Concern: Jared Cook / Josh Hill
I pushed myself to choose players that I had concern for, ultimately I landed on the tight ends. Typically tight ends have value where they are able to operate as either a receiver on deep seam routes or as a quick option if the pressure gets too much for the quarterback. That opportunity is limited here, with the line holding defenders at bay and the team having Kamara as an option in the backfield. However, this week they face one of the worst teams in the league against the tight end in the Arizona Cardinals, so it might be wise to hold onto them until after this week and see if you can get value for ether in a trade.
Offensive Line to Avoid - Los Angeles Chargers
Choosing the Chargers as a line I had concern for, honestly made me feel sad. The Chargers on their day are one of the most exciting offenses to watch, but the chances of that continuing in the long term are threatened by the inability of their line to make blocks. The return of Russell Okung cannot happen soon enough for the team.
Pass Blocking
Philip Rivers has often been asked to perform miracles for the team, and that looks set to continue.
The Chargers have one player on their offensive line that they are able to really rely upon, Michael Schofield III, but that isn't enough to enable the Chargers to be able to give their quarterback time in the pocket. Looking at Rivers' next-gen stats charts it's clear to see that he is trying his best to go deep but isn't able to hit them with any regularity. Part of that is due to the team's top receivers being players that typically run short to medium routes. However, their deep threat options handcuffed due to the line unable to protect their quarterback. They are looking for someone to make yards after the catch for their big plays right now.
One of the biggest barriers that the team has is health. Their starting left tackle Okung is yet to see the field this season and center Mike Pouncey is now on the Injured Reserve list. If the team is able to get healthy they could ease the pressure on their quarterback, but that doesn't look likely this season.
Run Blocking
The team is slightly more effective in run blocking, but it is still comfortably in the bottom half of the league.
Unlike in pass blocking, there isn't a single player that is above average in the league right now. The line isn't able to impose themselves on defenders, forcing the team's running backs to constantly have to break a tackle or make a defender miss in order to make a play. This struggle can easily be seen with Melvin Gordon's return, as he hasn't been able to get anything going since he returned to the lineup.
Again, the return of Okung could ease the pressure on the end of their line and allow a crease for the backs to expose, but until that happens the outlook isn't great for the unit.
Fantasy Impact
Trust: Austin Ekeler / Hunter Henry / Keenan Allen
Essentially I'm saying you can trust the players that typically operate close to the line of scrimmage. Ekeler has been able to operate as a great option out of the backfield this season, having scored four receiving touchdowns already this season.
Allen is a target heavy receiver, operating out of the slot for a lot of the team's snaps allowing a release valve for Rivers. Henry has been an effective receiver since he returned from injury, but again that isn't a surprise as the team looks to spread the ball around on shorter routes.
Cause for Concern: Melvin Gordon
Gordon is a player I have deep concerns for. Typically, he is a back who has the ability to break a long run but needs some help from his line. With the struggles of the offensive line, it could be that Gordon finds his snaps are limited with the team opting to use Ekeler in the backfield, who is a touch more elusive and can make defenders miss potentially. Ekeler was able to impress with his skillset early in the season while Gordon was away from the team. That holdout could come back to haunt him big time if the line continues to struggle and he finds himself unable to break those long runs this season.
Top Five Offensive Lines
1) Dallas Cowboys
2) Philadelphia Eagles
3) Indianapolis Colts
4) New Orleans Saints
5) Baltimore Ravens
Bottom Five Offensive Lines
32) Chicago Bears
31) Miami Dolphins
30) Los Angeles Rams
29) Cincinnati Bengals
28) New York Jets
