When talking about fantasy football player studs, we often mention a quarterback to receiver combo like Mahomes and Hill or a stud running back like Ezekiel Elliot, but we never mention the big guys up front, the grinders.
Without the big men there is no production, no holes to make or protection to keep the quarterback safe or give enough time for the receiver to run his full route and break out.
Here are my top ten offensive lines going into 2019.
1-Indianapolis Colts
When you think of Colts you really do not think of the offensive line. First names that come to mind, Andrew Luck, Marlon Mack and T.Y. Hilton. When the Colts drafted Luck in 2015, they tried to use a mish mosh of offensive linemen. After Luck was injured in 2017, front office had to make some moves on the line and they did. In 2018 the Colts got moving by drafting Quenton Nelson at 6 overall and Braden Smith 37th overall, and both making a name for themselves right away. Nelson is a straight up beast, I loved watching him play last year. This line can only get stronger and this is the main reason Marlon Mack could be a potential breakout and Andrew Luck being a top 3 quarterback in 2019.
2-Philadelphia Eagles
If you watched the Philadelphia Eagles play in 2018, you may be thinking, wait #2 how is this possible? One simple answer for me, all five linemen will return in 2019. Last year the Eagles used a rotation of guys. Too many injury’s but Dougy P as we call him in Philly made the proper adjustments. With all 5 guys coming back together, baring and injury’s, they should play like a machine. One good thing the Eagles did was finally find a replacement for the often-injured Jason Peters with Austin Dillard. Eagles have 2 pro bowlers in Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks and should have been pro-bowler Jason Kelce returning. Carson Wentz should have good time to throw this year and whatever running back is in should find plenty of room.
3-Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have always been one of my favorite offensive lines. When you watch the team play you can see that it all starts up front. The Steelers have always had a top fantasy guy on their team whether it was Le’veon Bell running the ball or Antonio Brown running a deep rout, it all started with the protection.
This year they lost their top right tackle in Marcus Gilbert heading to the Cardinals.
This could be an issue since the next man up is last years third round pick Chuckwuma Okorafor who at this time is a wait and see kind of guy. Matt Feiler could also take a shot at that role as he started 9 games last year when Gilbert was out, didn’t do to bad of a job filling in. Even with all the star power leaving for other destinations, I feel the Steelers will be just fine and Big Ben will have time to throw downfield to JuJu
4-Dallas Cowboys
Nothing new here, the Cowboys have been the staple of how an o-line should be built through the draft. Coming back are all three former first round picks, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zach Martin.
Last years first round pick Connor Williams struggled at times but there is plenty of time to grow. This year they drafted the big man out of Penn State, Connor Mcgovern, who should be a good replacement for substations and injuries.
The big question is will Travis Frederick be ready to go? In 2018 Frederick was out all season with a rare brain condition, bit seems like he is heading in the right direction health wise. With all these mentioned pieces and more, wouldn’t surprise me that this o-line finishes in the top three in 2019
5-New Orleans Saints
Losing Max Unger to retirement is definitely a blow to this offensive line. Saints drafted Erik McCoyout out of Texas A&M with their second-round pick in 2018. McCoyout will be asked to jump in right away in the vacant starting position.
Saints do have one of the best offensive tackles in the game in Terron Armstead, just has to stay healthy. Even though Armsted missed the second half of 2018, he was still elected to his first Pro-Bowl. 2017 first round pick Ryan Ramczyk made second team all-pro.
Saints offensive line created 1.67 yards before contact last year, which ranked 12th in the league. Keeping Drew Brees off the turf this year will be the main focus as he is not as mobile as he used to be but still gets the job done.
As I could sit here and talk offensive lines with you all day, I also do not want to lose you going through every team. We know the Dolphins and Cardinals will struggle. We know that the Minnesota Vikings revamped their line. Take a look at the next 5 teams that would round out my top 10:
6-New England Patriots- Tom Brady doesn’t need much time with all the short passes.
7-Atlanta Falcons- Alex Mack and Jake Mathews coached by o-line coach Chris Morgan makes a pretty good combo.
8-Chicago Bears- In 2018 only allowed 117 quarterback pressures in 519 attempts, one of the best pass blocking offensive lines.
9-Green Bay Packers- One of the best tackle pairings in the NFL with David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga
10- Tennessee Titans– This line may struggle with the suspension of Taylor Lewin, have to watch out for those spiked drinks.
This rounds out my top 10. Every year things change as these big men are In full contact every play and suffer major injuries. It all comes down to the next man up.
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