October 25, 2017

Steve Halupka ranks the best & worst offensive lines in the NFL heading into Week 8 of the 2017 NFL season. This could impact fantasy football value at RB.

There is an epidemic sweeping the NFL in 2017, the lack of offensive precision in the majority of the league. Sunday had the highest amount of teams who failed to score a touchdown since December of 2001 with seven. Seven teams couldn’t score one touchdown in a 60-minute NFL game. This is just sad.

Rules have been changed in previous seasons to help accentuate offensive football, but it simply has not been enough in 2017. Sure there are tons of injuries; Jay Cutler went down this week to a rib injury, Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck are seemingly lost for the season, but teams that have their quarterback relatively healthy with a compliment of players around them should be able to score one measly touchdown  in a game.

This week’s Smashmouth will focus on two offensive lines on two teams that were not part of this list of teams not being able to score a TD in Week 7, the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles. This was the first week of the Packers post-Aaron Rodgers and the tried to rely heavily on the run game and the offensive line to dictate the game to the Saints while the Eagles were left searching for answers after losing their perennial Pro Bowl Left Tackle, Jason Peters.

Offensive Line to Watch - Green Bay Packers

What a difference a week can make. The transition from Aaron Rodgers to Brett Hundley certainly was not as smooth as the Packers would have hoped as the Packers fell at home to the Saints. Even though the Packers ended up on the short end of the stick, there were some positive takeaways from their game. Offensive tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga made it through a week healthy and were both effective in their play this past week. Bakhtiari continued his stellar play on the left side of the line, pass protecting and run blocking at a near All-Pro level. He has graded out as the 4^th best offensive tackle so far this season in limited action at an 86.3 according to Pro Football Focus.

There was one occasion were Bakhtiari was off balanced in pass protection on a bull rush, but other than that he was strong all game long. The right side of the offensive line of Bulaga and Right Guard Jahri Evans were particularly effective in the running game early in the contest. Evans has provided some stability on the right side of the offensive line grading out above a 60 in both run and pass blocking according to PFF. The first play of the game Evans and Center Corey Linsley create a ton of horizontal and vertical movement on the zone run allowing rookie Aaron Jones to cut into the second level of the Saints defense. This movement allows Bulaga the ability to move to the Saints second level cleanly and wall off the linebacker.

The Packers go back to the well once again later in the first quarter this time with Ty Montgomery in the backfield. Bulaga and Evans get great push on their double team of the defensive tackle on the zone read allowing Bulaga to get to the second level.     The Saints defensive end does a great job closing or this play would have gone for much more.

Even though Brett Hundley did not produce many fantasy points in Week 7, he was effective at using his legs to his advantage when in and out of the pocket. Hundley was able to scan the field and then run for a touchdown early against the Saints. He also used his legs on this third down in the 2^nd quarter. Hundley felt the rush from the right side as Left Tackle David Bahktiari ran his defensive end by Hundley.

The major difference between Hundley scrambling for the big gain and what Aaron Rodgers would do when scrambling is instead of instantly taking off at the first sign of pressure, Rodgers would potentially stay behind the line of scrimmage and allow his receivers to work down field for big gains. Hundley will have to continue to develop this skill and not take off at the first sign of pressure as there could be further opportunities to get his receivers involved.

Fantasy Impact

Stock Up: Aaron Jones

Jones was the clear lead back in Green Bay and should be going forward. He out-snapped Ty Montgomery 44-7 in Week 7 and was extremely effective in the running game. He ran 17 times for 131 yards including a 46 yarder early in the first quarter where he scored a touchdown. He runs with a good combination of power and speed, and behind the bruising duo of Evans and Bulaga on the right side, should be able to generate chunk run plays on a consistent basis. He should be a high-end RB2 going forward as the Packers gameplan will continue to be more run-heavy to support their young quarterback

Stock Down: Green Bay Wide Receivers

It would have been great to see at least one wide receiver have a standout game, but Hundley was only able to complete 12 of 25 passes for 87 yards. He did attempt a few deep passes, but was inaccurate on those throws. Not having an accurate deep ball passer will limit the upside of Davante Adams in particular as the de-facto deep threat for the Packers. Expect to see lower passing volumes to these receivers going forward as the coaching staff attempts to limit the exposure Hundley has to adverse situations. Each of these receivers cannot be trusted as anything more than WR3s until Hundley shows more improvement.

Offensive Line to Watch - Philadelphia Eagles

This is one of the best, if not the best group in the entire NFL. Heading into Week 7, there was no Eagles starter that was graded lower than a 78.7 according to PFF, showing strength across all five positions. Center Jason Kelce has been a stronger pass than run blocker (he’s grading out above 90 in pass blocking, but under 50 in run blocking), but the other four starters are more consistent across the board. Guards Stefen Wisniewski (LG) and Brandon Brooks (RG) are each in the top-15 guards in the NFL this season and Right Tackle Lane Johnson is the number five offensive tackle.

Things were moving along great for the Eagles this season, until an extremely untimely injury to Left Tackle Jason Peters. Typically it’s not easy for any team to lose their left tackle, let alone one the best in the game. Prior to the injury, Peters was the number two offensive tackle according to PFF with a grade of 86.4. He is unique in that he is a converted tight end and it shows in just how athletic he is in his pass protection. In this first clip Peters uses a killer kick/slide to keep his shoulders square against the rushing defensive end. He is then able to adjust his hands and move his feet to push the defender past Carson Wentz allowing Wentz to deliver a pass.

Peters again is able to use his great feet to get himself in a winning position against the on rushing defender. He successfully lands his punch to knock the defender off his line to Wentz. After knocking the defender of his line, he uses his great feet to mirror the defensive end so he does not run down Wentz from behind.

Now since Peters is gone, what will become of the Eagles offensive line? Peters’ replacement, Halapoulivaati Vaitai filled in for the injured Lane Johnson earlier in the 2017 season with less than stellar results. He currently is the 57^th ranked offensive tackle according to Pro Football Focus, but did flash some signs of growth over his rookie season in 2016. In this pass set, Vaitai gets in good position with his feet and locks his hands on to give Wentz a clean pocket.

However, in this second clip Vaitai sets well to get himself in a good position to succeed, but it all goes downhill from there. Vaitai leans forward and gets off balance against a push/pull move from the defender and ends up in Carson Wentz’s lap. This simply cannot happen as a starting left tackle in the NFL. His feet and balance will be keys going forward as the Eagles face the Broncos in Week 9 after the 49ers this week.

Fantasy Impact

Stock Down: Alshon Jeffery

If Vaitai continues to struggle against better pass rushers the upside of Alshon Jeffery will be severely limited. Expect to see fewer deep targets for the Eagles in general, as their main goal will be to protect Carson Wentz. This could mean shorter routes or Wentz deciding to check the ball down to his running backs and tight ends. Jeffery played a few snaps in the slot last past week to get him some easy receptions, but he rotated that position with regular slot man Nelson Agholor. Jeffery should be considered a middle of the road WR2 in all formats versus a low-end WR1 that he was during the preseason.

Top Five Offensive Lines

1) Pittsburgh Steelers
2) New Orleans Saints
3) New England Patriots
4) Washington Redskins
5) Philadelphia Eagles

Bottom Five Offensive Lines

32) Cincinnati Bengals
31) Arizona Cardinals
30) San Francisco 49ers
29) Jacksonville Jaguars
28) Seattle Seahawks

For any questions about offensive line play in the NFL, feel free to contact me @TheRealHalupka on Twitter.

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