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When you get married, for better or worse, you not only get your significant other but also their family and all the fun that comes along with them.
Drafting “skill position” players for your fantasy team works in much the same way: you draft Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson, and/or Brandon Marshall, and for better or worse you get Jeff Saturday, Steve Hutchinson, and/or Ryan Clady along with them.
That’s why more and more fantasy owners are paying attention to what goes on in the trenches. Not to the degree, of course, with which they crunch numbers and project stats for quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. But most fantasy players—at least the successful ones—know that Jason Peters’ move from Buffalo to Philly will impact Donovan McNabb and Marshawn Lynch, that Walter Jones’ health is key to the fantasy prospects of both Matt Hasselbeck and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and that before Thomas Jones holds out for more money he should give a chunk of last year’s earnings to Alan Faneca and Nick Mangold as a sign of appreciation.
And so to fill in that vital background information as you decide between Knowshon Moreno and Chris Wells, here’s a look at each offensive line in the league—their strengths, their weaknesses, and what their performance (or lack thereof) might mean for their “skill position” teammates.
These rankings are subjective, so I’m sure you’ll have quibbles. However, with each passing year more and more actual data becomes available to support (or refute) these opinions. In these writeups you’ll find many references to the Football Outsiders, who attempt to quantify just how much of a team’s offensive performance can be directly attributed to line play as opposed to the backs through stats like adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate. You’ll also find information the Football Scientist, specifically his work on success at the point of attack.
You’ll also note that among the overall grades there is an inordinate amount of Bs—19, to be precise, as opposed to three As and one D. That doesn’t necessarily adhere to the bell-shaped curve, but I think it accurately reflects how each team’s line will impact its team’s “skill position” players—the real reason for this article.
The chart below provides a quick overview of each line; don’t be afraid to click on the team links for a more in-depth look at each team’s blockers—especially if you’re wavering between a couple backs and want to know what kind of holes each might be afforded to run through.
Enough of the background info; now it’s time to meet the in-laws!
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