NFL Offensive Line Rankings UPDATE: Biggest Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers!
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
46 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Nov 5, 2026
Published
Thu, November 5, 2026
14
Player insights
14
Players mentioned
Topics
Baker MayfieldBreece HallBrock PurdyCaleb WilliamsChris RodriguezChristian McCaffreyColston LovelandD'Andre SwiftJared GoffJoe MiltonJordyn TysonJustin HerbertKenneth Walker IIITravis Etienne
Player analysis
Player insights
Baker Mayfield
NegativeRole20:32
Before his injury, Buccaneers QB's tendency to extend plays repeatedly put him in trouble and contributed to Tampa Bay's gaudy 37.4 pressure rate (second-worst in the league). His play-extending behavior inflated sack and pressure metrics, masking the OL's actual performance. Dan notes Mayfield was just trying to extend plays and extend plays and extend plays and putting himself in trouble before he got hurt.
Insight pageBreece Hall
NegativeRole15:15
Jets RB potentially becoming a trade chip at the deadline; displaced by 22-year-old Breece Allen running at a high level. The environment feels different than last year when Hall was rumored to Kansas City; the Jets couldn't get a third-round pick for him then, but now with Allen's emergence, Hall's role and value have diminished. Dan suggests Hall may no longer be needed.
Insight pageBrock Purdy
PositiveProjection2:19
49ers QB ranked top 3–5 for fantasy purposes; elite offensive line protection (22% pressure rate, only 7 sacks through week 9) enables consistent performance despite receiver injuries. Dan notes the 49ers offensive line has been ranked #1 for 4–5 weeks and went 6 weeks without allowing a single sack, allowing Purdy to find lesser players coming open and maintain elite offensive efficiency.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
PositiveProjection4:07
Bears QB averaging 31 PPG in his starts (including the week 2 loss to Green Bay); Dan had preseason confidence in Williams backed by detailed offensive line analysis. Bears offensive line ranked #6 in preseason, now up to #3 overall, providing elite protection. Ball is coming out on time, everything is moving well, and he can still create out of structure when needed, supporting sustained high-volume offensive output.
Insight pageChris Rodriguez
NegativeUsage39:16
Rodriguez's touchdowns are coming from 15-20 yards out; he's getting big chunk explosive plays rather than short-field scoring opportunities. In condensed field situations, Jacksonville relies more on quick flow action to the flat, suggesting Rodriguez's scoring pattern is dependent on extended plays rather than red zone efficiency.
Insight pageChristian McCaffrey
NegativeInjury3:14
49ers RB faces potential unavailability for the upcoming week; however, despite McCaffrey's possible absence, the 49ers offense remains on track for elite fantasy production due to elite offensive line play and Purdy's ability to find open receivers.
Insight pageColston Loveland
NegativeRole6:00
Bears TE may see increased blocking responsibilities to provide help on the left side of the offensive line due to cascading left tackle injuries (Braxton Jones out for year, Theo Benedict shoulder injury, Azie Trapillo limited).
Insight pageD'Andre Swift
PositiveUsage5:39
Despite poor overall numbers against Seattle, Bears RB showed strong red zone production with multiple touchdowns. He is seeing the lanes really well in short-area movement situations, indicating elite efficiency in high-value scoring opportunities.
Insight pageJared Goff
PositiveProjection8:30
Jared Goff is playing super well with the Lions' elite offensive line providing him clean pockets to operate. The Lions offense is extremely formidable and hasn't even hit its peak yet, ranked top five with arrow pointing up. The upcoming schedule features nearly all indoor games in November and December, an environment where Goff historically thrives, positioning him for sustained elite fantasy performance.
Insight pageJoe Milton
PositiveRole30:28
Dan expects Joe Milton's QB change to spark the Eagles offense; his ability to throw downfield and mobility should mitigate offensive line problems and help the group potentially work into the 15 range in rankings, providing relief for an O-line that collapsed from 2nd to 21st.
Insight pageJordyn Tyson
NegativeRole35:24
Jordan Tyson is a Saints wide receiver who has not yet been seen on the field; Dan notes the Saints have explosive weapons at receiver but Tyson's role and impact remain to be determined. Has not yet been seen this season; expected return is part of the offensive line group's health recovery. Dan is optimistic the unit will improve when Tyson, Banks, and Ruiz return.
Insight pageJustin Herbert
NegativeProjection40:00
Justin Herbert is suffering from catastrophic offensive line play; the Chargers are allowing a 37.6% pressure rate (worst in the NFL) and 23 sacks. Herbert's body language shows the toll of constant pressure, and the team lacks continuity and run game relief due to cascading injuries (Tyler Batty done for year, Rashan Slater recurring injuries, Jake Slaughter unprepared rookie center). The concern is whether Herbert can avoid a catastrophic injury that would impact his 2027 season.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
PositiveProjection23:21
Seahawks RB's early-season performance was exceptional; drafted in the second round or late first round, he was a rare early-round league winner before the last couple weeks disappointed. His strong start enabled Seattle's offense to mitigate offensive line problems through play-action and RPO schemes, keeping the team tied for second-fewest sacks (9) despite bottom-10 time to throw (2.41 seconds) and 30% pressure rate. Dan notes his start was amazing and he was the rare early-round league winner.
Insight pageTravis Etienne
PositiveRole34:34
The Saints acquired Travis Etienne with the hope of solidifying their run game and adding explosive plays, as Alvin Kamara no longer provides that element; Etienne's addition was a key investment in the Saints' offensive weapons. Dan expects the Saints O-line to improve and climb into the top 15 rankings when Banks and Ruiz return.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Offensive line rankings updates and the impact on fantasy football over the second half of the year. I'm Theo Griminger of Rotoire joined by Rotoire's
0:09offensive line rankings guru Dan Fornick. One of the resident balln knowowers out there. Love chopping it up with Dan. Dan's a former player. Dan
0:18played the game at a high level and I think you're an even better analyst than player at this point, Dan, because your
0:23offensive line uh rankings are second to none. You're also doing a ton of awesome stuff on the site over on the IDP side
0:29of the ball. Um, basically you can get access to Dan's content. Subscribe to Rotoire. Dan is updating the offensive line uh rankings each and every week and
0:40then he does these big appointment articles. We have one dropping next week. Dan, what should people expect?
0:47>> Um, what next week is going to be? So, in my last one for week five, we looked at which groups had been moving.
0:53Offensive line groups were moving up and down based on the preeason. So, this will be another one of those check-ins.
0:58Okay, who's continuing to move up? Who started to move down? You know, if a team has had injury issues or something
1:05that's gone sideways like you or a retirement, I'm sure we'll talk about the Eagles today. Um, you know, how is that going to impact or how has that
1:13impacted, you know, what they've done and what can we expect going forward?
1:17Yeah, and we we had an awesome podcast over the summer. Your process is second to none. Dan values things like offensive line depth in his preseason
1:25analysis. And that's proven to be very effective because like you said, a couple of teams lose a a key piece, unable to replace them with another, and
1:35it's downgrades really the whole offense. And if you want to try to identify some of the best offenses in football, a lot of them are towards the
1:42top of the offensive line rankings. And let's start off right at the top. Let's reveal a few of Dan's top ranked
1:48offenses, excuse me, offensive lines.
1:51Number one at the top, San Francisco 49ers. They've moved up eight spots from your preseason rankings. Anything to talk about? They've allowed, I believe,
2:01the fewest sacks of any team in the league right now.
2:04>> Yeah, and that was So, they've been number one. Um, if you're if you track the weekly rankings, they've been number
2:10one for me for about four or five weeks now. Um they they went I think it was six weeks without allowing a single
2:16sack. Um you can see you know they were one of those teams that had a lot of continuity. They had a majority I
2:22believe four of their five starters five contributors coming back. Um the run game looks healthier this year. You know they they're finding these rush lanes.
2:31They aren't allowing a lot of pressures.
2:33You know a 22% pressure rate even at this point in the year where in week nine they've only given up seven sacks.
2:39And some of that's Brock Perie, but a lot of that is them. They're working together real well. They're making sure that he has a clean pocket. Um, and
2:47they're opening up these rushing lanes.
2:49They're, and that's with, you know, injuries everywhere, but the offense is working like a metronome. You know, they're down to I think you and I are
2:57next up to play wide receiver for them, but the offense is still on track because they're able to protect Pertie and they're able to give him a little
3:04bit of extra time to find these lesser players coming open. Yeah, it's interesting because Brock Perie is the longest tenur starting quarterback
3:12Shanahan's ever had and it's probably the best offensive quality of offensive line play throughout the tenure in San Francisco. So, you know, we bring up the
3:21lack of receivers, but the the the unbelievable quality of the offensive line combined with the unbelievable quality and the continuity between
3:29Shanahan and Pertie, it's an offense that we can trust. Like, I had just had this conversation with Jim Coventry.
3:34There might be multiple wide receivers missing again. Chris McAffrey might not play this week and we're totally in line with Perty being a top three to five
3:41ranked quarterback again. So, they're locked and loaded. You've got the Rams at two, they've moved up significantly.
3:48Um, the Rams you had in the preseason at like seven overall, so they've moved up five spots. We're feeling great about
3:56things. Chicago is an interesting one, and I'll pick your brain on this one.
4:00You're wearing the Bears hat. I mean, the Bears the Bears look like a Super Bowl contender. Both sides of the ball
4:06look really strong right now.
4:07>> They have averaged 31 points per game in Caleb Williams starts, including the disastrous week 2 game against Green Bay.
4:14>> Um, and you've got this, oh, excuse me, that was Minnesota and Minnesota, excuse me. Sorry about that one. Yeah, we don't
4:21want to give stolen valor to the uh Packers defense there. Um, the the Bears offensive line in the preseason, you had
4:28them at six overall. They're up to three overall.
4:32add Simmons on the defensive side of the ball and now getting this truly elite offensive line play. It's the best offensive line in Chicago in how many
4:42years?
4:43>> Well, probably since last year, but before that, I mean, it's arguably my lifetime. Um, yeah, >> you know, they they are it's and I will
4:51say I'm going to put this out there. Our podcast in the summer where we broke down why I had confidence in Caleb
4:57Williams might have been the greatest. I need to clip that and that's just going on my resume for any job I do um to show
5:03attention to detail. But um you know they they're just a good cohesive group.
5:08They even you know right now they're having some issues at left tackle. Um Braxton Jones who started the season as their starter is out for the year now.
5:16He had a surgery I believe on his knee so he's been shut down. There's rumors that um the backup Theo Benedict uh
5:23suffered a shoulder injury against Seattle. That's not ideal. Um, you know, Azie Trapillo came back from the patellar tendon tear, but they've been
5:30working him in. He didn't play last week, and that's already a really tricky injury for offensive line, but it just doesn't matter. They're playing super
5:39well. You know, Seattle is a extremely difficult matchup. And the pure numbers didn't look good for DeAndre Swift, but when they get into the red zone,
5:48touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. They're able to get that short area movement.
5:53He's seeing the lanes really, really well. And then what else is there to say about Caleb Williams? The ball is coming
5:58out on time. Everything is moving well.
6:00And when he needs to create out a structure, he's able to still do that.
6:04It I I just that offensive line, you know, they'll probably have to start Trapillo this week. That means you might see more Coloulston Lovelin blocking. Um
6:13you might see more Sam Rous blocking like just to give some help on that left side. But right now with the way that
6:18offense is playing, you know, and Tampa Bay is going to be down. Um their opponent is down. Yaya, it sounds like
6:24he suffered a minor knee injury last week. He might miss this week. So, that helps kind of mitigate that a little
6:30bit. It should be a good game. Tampa Bay is a really good defense, but Chicago's offensive line, as you I mean, for me,
6:35it's top three by Sunday night. That might dip a little bit once we hear about the injuries at left tackle once
6:41we get a little bit more clarity, but they'll still be in the top five this week.
6:46>> Yeah. And and and Chicago, you were very bullish on in the preseason. One team that um was is sort of an unusual team
6:53that that to see ranked in like the middle of the pack in the preseason was the Lions, but you added a caveat that
7:00you thought that they could really improve throughout the year. Obviously, they draft Blake Miller. Uh Su kicked over opposite side of the ball. Um how
7:10impressive has their offensive line been this year in Detroit. They are up to fourth overall in your rankings. This is one of the biggest risers, if not the
7:17biggest riser we've seen all year. You had them 16th in the preseason. So smack dab in the middle. Um to four overall.
7:25>> Yeah. I think coming into the year, you know, you look at it and it's like, okay, they return their two guards. Um
7:32and Paneu, but he's flipping sides, which isn't always easy to do. You have to assume there's some sort of acclamation process there. And then um
7:39the center that they brought in in free agency, Cade Mazize, gets hurt. They traded Juice Scrugs as their backup center. He was part of the David
7:46Montgomery trade with Houston. And so the easiest thing at that point to do is to sit back and say, "Okay, I like all
7:54the talent of this group, but I think they're going to be in the middle because I don't know how it's going to
7:58look with a backup center and two young guards and and two essentially two new tackles playing in new places." And you
8:04continually see them grow and Cade Mazize came back and then he got hurt again. But now you know that Juice Scrugs, at least especially in the run
8:11game, can be a positive. Tate Rattlage has looked really good this year. or Su starting to get comfortable. Blake Miller will have his hiccups. You know,
8:20his feet run together. He gets a little tall in run blocking. He gets beat sometimes on the edge, but he's been
8:26exactly what you hoped you were getting when you drafted him, which is a guy you have at right tackle whose name you
8:30don't hear a lot. You know, Christian Mahogany is probably your weakest link.
8:34And he's been playing really well this year. It's just a really good group.
8:38They continue to grow and continue to ascend and Jared Goff is playing super well and they're giving him pockets to move in. I mean, they're extremely
8:46formidable as an offense, and you could argue they haven't even hit their peak yet, and they're still a top five unit
8:51for me. It's the arrow is pointing up.
8:53They did a really good job against Minnesota this past week, >> and almost every game in the upcoming schedule for uh Detroit uh is going to
9:02be indoors. I know they they've got this this one against Miami this week, a soft matchup, and and then maybe one or two
9:09others, but every other game pretty much in the month of November, December is going to be an indoor environment. We know how Jared Goff thrives there and
9:16with that offensive line, I mean, it's sort of like Dan Campbell, great offensive line play. They're synonymous.
9:23Another offensive line that's improved rapidly, and this is a team we're talk, we were talking a little bit of NFL draft uh 2027 stuff before the show,
9:30Dan, but one team that's invested um through the draft on the offensive line for a few seasons now is the Pittsburgh
9:38Steelers. They're another huge riser for you. We've seen Jaylen Warren playing at an elite level. Rico Dow's had a lot of
9:46a lot of um strong looking play since he returned. And when you look at this O line in Pittsburgh, how enthusiastic are
9:54you about them? They're another huge riser for you from your preseason ranking.
9:59>> Yeah, so Pittsburgh is my kryptonite. Um I love Troy Fatanu. I love their left tackle. Like I loved Maxitor. Um you
10:07know, Zack Frasier I think coming into the year for me I would have said is a top five center. like this is one of
10:12those groups where when I do my preseason rankings, it was like a heat check for me cuz at one point when I was
10:18putting it all together, I had them in the top 10 and I was like, "Okay, hold on." Like this is I I need to slow
10:24myself down a little bit here. Um because there are things we haven't seen. Fatanu flipping over at the time, you know, Ihanur wasn't going to be
10:32their starter. They had um a different right guard. They lost Isaac Samalo. So, it's like, okay, I need to, you know,
10:38temper my expectations a little bit here. And then I think it was probably, I think it was week five when they put
10:44Brock Hoffman in at right guard. They put Ahanur in at right tackle. And you've just seen how the run game has
10:52exploded really since then. And, you know, like you said, Jaylen Warren is probably one of the most efficient running backs in the NFL. you know, they
11:00are uh FTN, one of the sites that I write for, has an adjusted line yards ranking formula. And so essentially, it
11:08tries to attribute um what the offensive line accounts for in the run game. So like if a loss happens, it's 120% of the
11:17value. Um 0 to four yard gains are 100% on the offensive line because it's that short area movement. And then as you
11:24progressively get more explosive runs, more and more credit shifts to the running back, you know, in that metric, um the the Pittsburgh Steelers are
11:34towards the top right now. Um and so it just goes to show you like they are getting the movement and then from there
11:40once the rushing lanes are established, Jaylen Warren and Rico Dael are both making these plays and turning them into explosives. So, it's just a group that I
11:49expect to continue to grow because Ehanur was very raw coming into the NFL, but I really think in the run game, he's
11:55kind of found his footing and he's getting really good movement week in and week out and the pass game is starting
12:00to come along for him, too.
12:02>> Yeah. And when you start looking at offenses that face uh advantageous matchups in the fantasy playoffs, the the heading just down the stretch once
12:13you get past uh Baltimore in week 15 is who knows where that's going to be with.
12:19But you get Baltimore in week 15, then week 16 Carolina Panthers in Pittsburgh, then week 17 at the Tennessee Titans. We
12:27are going to be trusting these Pittsburgh Steelers. I think people would not be surprised at all if they followed sort of preseason content and I
12:34told everybody that your seventh ranked offensive line is the Dallas Cowboys, your eighth ranked is the Buffalo Bills, your ninth ranked is the Denver Broncos.
12:43They'd say, "Okay, that makes sense. I Everybody liked those guys in the preseason. Denver has gone down a little bit. The quality, they're not quite as
12:50dominant. They're still top 10. Uh last year, I think I believe they were number one for you last year, but they're still
12:56at nine. But the team that has moved up exponentially is the New York Jets at six. Uh talk about the quality of talent that they've
13:06accumulated on the offensive line. It's another team where we've seen them invest in throughout the NFL draft on the offensive line. They've also done so
13:16with key resignings, but Arman Meu specifically and then a number of other guys. Uh how enthusiastic are you about this Jets offensive line and the quality
13:25you're seeing there? Yeah, I well and they're one of those teams where they have invested heavily in that group. Um Olu Fosanu is their left tackle. He was
13:37a firstround pick, top 10 pick. Um Armand Meu, top 10 pick. Uh they signed Dylan Parm who they haven't even really
13:43had this year. He's been injured, but then they brought over Jordan Meredith who you know was with uh who was with
13:49the Raiders previously. He filled in well. Um their right guard is Joe Tipman. like he was a second round pick I believe like and Josh Meyers is their
13:59center. He was a free agent from Green Bay. He's a solid player but when you put him around guys who are talented
14:04like his play rises. Um early in the season they were probably a little bit behind in the run game and they were
14:12better in protection. Even now we're at nine weeks into the year. You know they're the fourth best pressure rate in the NFL. They're only allowing pressure
14:19on 23% of drop backs. Um they're top five in unblocked pressure rate, 18.5%.
14:26You know, they're picking the stuff up.
14:28Um they're sixth in time to pressure.
14:30It's taking defensive linemen 2.73 seconds to get to the quarterback, which allows them to be third in time to throw. the only teams they're behind in
14:38time to throw, which is when the quarterback gets the ball to him releasing the ball, he's behind uh Gino Smith is behind Drake May, who is a guy
14:47who can extend plays, and Caleb Williams, who's a guy who can extend plays. And so, they're doing a really good job protecting and because of that,
14:55they're able to take shots downfield.
14:57They're able to use their wide receivers. Omar Cooper's had big plays.
15:00Adani Mitchell makes big plays. Garrett Wilson's always getting targeted down the field. Um, and that with Brilan Allen, I think you've seen the run game
15:08really start to open up and we're really starting to put together some chunks.
15:12And so whether they decide to keep Bree Hall, maybe Bree Hall becomes a trade chip because they just don't need him
15:17anymore, but you're starting to see this running game go, which is going to only make the passing game better. So they're
15:23one, they have all this talent and you're really starting to see it coales and come together and turn into big plays on the ground, big plays in the
15:32air. you know, they just are coming out of a weekend and yeah, it was the Raiders, but you know, that was a
15:36shootout like that. This was not an offense you could count on to shoot out with anybody last year and this year
15:42they have the horses up front to kind of support those environments.
15:45>> Yeah, Jets are really interesting one because I think a lot of people would discount the quality of the offensive line play and like you said multiple
15:51receivers are hitting. We saw we've seen, you know, Brilan Allen just looks incredible. I talked about Bree Hall as a potential trade candidate, dropped a
16:00trade show. So, you can check that one out if you're listening on the podcast.
16:02Very recent. I'm going live uh on Tuesday for the trade deadline. It feels different than last year where last year it was like Bree Hall, we had all these
16:12rumors maybe Kansas City. Ultimately, the Jets wanted a third round pick. They couldn't get it for Hall last year. Um but this year, the environment feels
16:20super different because of the 22year-old Brilan Allen running at this high of a level. A quick note that this show is brought to you by Better. If
16:28you're watching football and you want a little more action on the games, check out Better. That's BET R. Make picks on
16:34your favorite players or jump into the Better Sportsbook for spreads, totals, and money lines. It's all in one app. Go check out Better. That's BE TR. Continue
16:44to look at offensive lines that have moved up in the rankings. Atlanta, Big Riser. They're up to 10 overall. And then at 11 overall is the Cincinnati
16:54Bengals. And we've had times throughout Joe Burrow's career where we had major question marks on the offensive line.
17:02Not this year. This team continues to look better. The offensive line is putting up huge numbers week in week out. How enthusiastic are you about this
17:09offensive line? Do they have even more room to run here, Dan, in terms of when you rerank in a couple weeks, do you
17:15think that they're a team that's heading in the right direction?
17:18>> Um, I think for right now, for me, they're kind of reaching that ceiling point. like I think they have the
17:24capability to be a top 10 unit. Um I think that they have improved. I think that the kind of the catalyst for their
17:33improvement is the fact that Amarius Mims has just ascended. All the traits and all the skills and all the things we
17:39hoped he could be. This year he's become it. Um they have a veteran right guard, veteran center. Um Dylan Fairchild is a
17:47young left guard. Their big problem though is Orlando Brown Jr. he has not been playing very well um this year. He
17:54kind of he's been struggling especially in protection and I think that really and and it's not really fair to necessarily assign this to them because
18:02I think that they are kind of hamstrung by the fact that they play so much shotgun and naturally that's going to
18:08kind of hurt your run game. Um you know they're just not getting a ton of movement. They're the fifth lowest yards
18:14per before contact, which is a good metric to understand like how much movement is your offensive line getting in the run game. Um they're towards the
18:22top in stuffed run rate. Um they're towards the bottom in that adjusted line yards. So it's like they're just not it's not really a complimentary football
18:30team. Joe Burrow is just Joe Burrow and he's playing out of his mind and it works because they've taken steps in
18:36protection. But Orlando Brown just being that glaring weakness and knowing what we know about Burrow's injury history, he does a really good job of just
18:44getting the ball out fast and he hasn't had to do that as much this year. So, you're starting to see him take those
18:49shots again to Jamar Chase downfield and T. Higgins downfield. Um, but until the left tackle play kind of improves, they're probably a top 10 12 unit for me
18:59and that's kind of where they'll stay.
19:01And if we see that improve, then yeah, they can continue to get into that top eight. I just feel like the groups that
19:06we have at the top right now are just playing at such a high level that it's tough to crack into that top six, that
19:12top seven because these are really really established and strong units.
19:19>> Yeah, I think and really look you added a lot of context to that for Cincinnati.
19:23I think Bengals fans would will take this ranking all day long versus kind of where we anticipated Cincinnati to be.
19:30Um, yeah, Mims and a couple of these guys are very high quality players, but it's really hard to break in, which
19:37makes a Ascension sort of like the Jets even more impressive. Seattle's at 12.
19:43They were 12 in the preseason. Then we get to a couple of notable followers.
19:48Tampa Bay Buccaneers we had at at you had over at Rotoire right on the site at three overall. I remember talking to you
19:56in August how excited we were about the Bucks offensive line. Uh they're down to 13. So they've dropped 10 spots from
20:04near the top to uh towards the middle.
20:07Your thoughts on this Buccaneers offensive line and what you're seeing?
20:10>> Yeah, I think now the sack numbers and the pressure rate is gaudy. Um they're at a 37.4 pressure rate this year. The
20:19only team that I believe is worse is the Chargers. So, it's like those are not two units that you would like put with
20:25each other synonymously. But a lot of that, I think, is also Baker Mayfield when he before he got hurt, he was just
20:32trying to extend plays and extend plays and extend plays and putting himself in trouble and he ends up getting hurt. Um,
20:38you know, they're starting to normalize a little bit. I think having Jaden Jaylen Daniels back there, the ball was getting out a little bit quicker. They
20:46but they also it's hard to really like climb put them much higher or have a lot of faith in it because in the two games
20:52Baker's been back they've thrown what 14 passes he threw three last week he threw >> and but that's where there is a reason
21:00for optimism because the run game is so clean right now they Bucky Irving is playing out of his mind. Kenneth Gainwell I think last week they both
21:09went for over 120 rushing yards or something like they were just running the ball everywhere. So, if they can build their passing offense to get Baker
21:19to trust what he's seeing, to maybe lean into play action a little bit more, to like use the run game as a weapon to
21:24open up the pass game, that's a group that, you know, they may not get to three again, but they're a group that I
21:30can see getting back into that top 10, top eight mix. Like, they are exceptionally talented. You know, they and they've also navigated an injury
21:40lately. Um Luke got the right tackle is working through a calf injury and like calves are very fickle and they're easy
21:46to reagravate. So they're climbing especially there was a point where I had them lower than this and they're right outside that top 12. I see a path for
21:55them to get back into the top eight but it's really going to come down to can we continue you know when the passing game
22:02opens up a little bit more than averaging six attempts a week with Baker Mayfield. Are they going to be able to
22:08hold up in protection? Is he going to continue to have time to make those plays to attack downfield? And we just
22:14don't know that yet. So, I'm comfortable with them just being right outside that top 12. Yeah, that to makes total sense.
22:21Another team that's dropped significantly, the Indianapolis Colts.
22:24We know the Quinton Nelson trade to Seattle. Colts are down at 14 overall.
22:29You had them five in the preseason. Uh dropping nine spots significant.
22:34Jacksonville, who plays on Thursday night. We're recording this Thursday during the day. They're a big riser at 15 overall. They've moved up nine spots
22:43from the preseason ranking when we had a lot of uh question marks about this O line. Solidly middle of the pack for
22:49Jacksonville. And then you've got Kansas City who was very low ranked to start out the year. They've moved up 11 spots.
22:57They're up at 16 overall. Feeling good about things in Kansas City. Dan, uh, your thoughts on this offensive line, how they've looked, and is this a
23:07ranking that you feel pretty solidly about that that we can sort of solidify this offensive line moving forward?
23:13>> I they are one where as the run game goes, they will go. Um, you know, they have been leaning. Obviously, Kenneth
23:21Walker's start was amazing. um you know, if you drafted him in the second round or late first round this year, you know,
23:27I know the last week or two's probably been kind of disappointing, but before that, he he was I mean, the rare early
23:33round league winner based on what he was doing. Um and what they've been able to do because of that is they've been able
23:40to kind of mitigate some of their problems with the play action game with RPOS's. Like they are one of the heaviest play action RPO passing attacks
23:47in the NFL since um Taekquin Thornton's gotten hurt. teams aren't kind of playing them a little bit closer to the line, but like if you look, they've only
23:55allowed nine sacks. That's tied for the second fewest in the NFL. Um, but their pressure rates at 30%. Their time to
24:02throw is only at 2.41 seconds, which is a bottom 10 mark. So, like their run game is the key to their passing game.
24:10And I think that's I mean Josh Simmons, it seems at this point we're just not going to see him. I it doesn't sound
24:14like he's going to play this year um just based on the injury and the mystery around it. and then he was put on the
24:21IR, but right before that he got into an argument with the team like you know it's >> feed up during the team feed up during
24:28the team uh meeting did not exactly uh vibe with Patrick Mahomes or Andy Reid.
24:33It >> it never will you know it it's so it's like it's one of those things where it's like they're a team where if they can
24:39continue to impact with the run game the passing game will go with it. Um I think but there are concerns. Khalil Benson,
24:48they've been able to kind of hide what he is in pass production because he's so good in the run game. Kingsley Sua
24:54Matia, their left guard, it sounds like he's been benched for the last couple weeks and Mike Caliendo's in there. And in that time, the offense is has kind of
25:01taken a step back a little bit. So then you have to ask yourself, okay, is this a long-term thing? Because if it is, the
25:07off the quality of the offense hasn't been as good without him. or is it a short-term thing where they're trying to
25:13bring him up? He's a young guy. He did something that deserves, you know, a consequence. Are they going to put him
25:18back in and is it going to get back on track? So, they're middle of the pack now, but they're one of those where, you
25:23know, maybe they climb a few spots, but if it continues to kind of go sideways, they could fall into the 20s again,
25:29which is where they were for most of the early part of the season while we were feeling out what is Khalil Benson, how
25:35is Jaylen Moore on the right side? like some of those questions still haven't been answered because they've been able to play such a runheavy style to start
25:42the year.
25:43>> Yeah, it's an interesting team and I think that the scheme will help their offensive line as well. We saw sort of
25:48the emergence of EMTT Johnson, the explosive element he adds as a pass catcher out of the back field and then just having Rashi Rice on the field is
25:56so important for that passing game. Uh we'll keep an eye on Kansas City.
26:00Continuing to look at Dan Fornick's offensive line rankings, go check out rotoire.com. Dan is going to drop a huge article in week 10. So, we're nearing.
26:11Make sure you're checking that one out.
26:12You also get access to all of my rankings over at Rotoire. Use the code Theo40. Get 40% off of our already
26:19reduced uh packages. Uh Minnesota checks in at 17, the New England Patriots at 18. Uh about in line where you had these
26:28guys in the preseason, and then we see a faller, the New York Giants. They've actually dropped. Uh so, the team is
26:34winning some games. NFC East is a train wreck. Giants are the least bad team in the NFC East. Um they've been able to
26:42win against Houston this past week with uh before their bye-week with JJ McCarthy. An impressive win there. Your thoughts on this offensive line. Can
26:51they improve over the second half of the season in your rankings?
26:54>> Yeah, they can. Um I think they've just mostly been good like they're they're a solid, you know, double of a unit. Um
27:02they have been kind of their time to throw their time to pressure is or their time to throw is 2.42 seconds. That's
27:10towards the bottom of the league. Their time until pressure is 2.35 which right now is the worst in the league. So teams are getting pressure on
27:19them pretty quick. Um their run game has just been mostly mediocre. I don't think I think they're kind of attributing that
27:25to who they have based on how rumored they are and connected they seem to be to Jonathan Taylor. Um, and they were
27:32connected to running backs all off seasonason, right? They were a Kenneth Walker possible landing spot. They were a um Jeremiah Love possible draft
27:39landing spot. Like, so I think they've been looking for a little bit more juice in the run game. Um, but I just think
27:44they've been fine. Francis Mau has gotten got sometimes on the interior.
27:48Um, they benched John Michael Schmidz a few weeks ago. Um, which, you know, that was your starting center coming into the
27:55year. If you weren't super enthusiastic about him, the play hasn't been dramatically better. But more importantly, it hasn't been worse. It's
28:02it's a good unit. It's just some of the teams that have that we had questions about coming into the year have answered
28:08those questions more emphatically than the Giants have. And so, naturally, you're going to kind of go down. And when you look at, you know, how quickly
28:16teams are getting pressure on the quarterback, that's part of it, too.
28:20>> Titans check in at 20th. They've been a a pleasant surprise offensive line. They were bottom of the barrel at 32 in the
28:27preseason. They're at 20. Then you've got the really depressing one, Philadelphia Eagles. They were two overall heading into the season, down at
28:3521. A catastrophic drop. Uh Dan, for as long as you've been doing offensive line rankings, uh I'm sure dropping 19 spots
28:45uh over the first like half of the season, that's about as big of a drop as as as possible. Um how bad is this
28:52offensive line in Philly? We know we've had retirements, we've had trades. It's it's just like a continuing train wreck, >> right? It's the days of our lives of the
29:02NFL. Um, you know, coming into the year, they were number two for me because they were able to bring Lane Johnson back.
29:10They're able to bring Landon Dickerson back. These are guys who were rumored to be retiring. They lose Jeff Stoutland, um, who's a legendary offensive line
29:18coach. And so, it's like, okay, like I'm willing to give the nod to the experience coming back. We have five starters coming back. There are five
29:27experienced guys outside of their right guard who was a first year starter last year, I believe. Um, Tyler Steen. So, it's like, okay, let's see what they can
29:35do. We know that they're talented. How well does it come together? And then you, week one, Dickerson is injured and it turns out he was injured in camp and
29:43he just looked terrible. He lands on the IR. And so then, you know, Lane Johnson retires out of the blue and it's like,
29:50okay, now our right tackle is a round three rookie who's a developmental prospect because our backup tackle, Fred Jackson, he's hurt, too. Um, and then
29:59you trade Cam Jurgens. So now it's like, okay, now we have a hole in the middle of our offensive line. And so it's just
30:05been musical chairs. They've allowed um the second highest pressure rate this season, 36.6%.
30:13um they're towards the top of the league or the bottom, I guess, depending on how you want to look at it in terms of
30:19stuffed run rate. They're not getting a ton of yards before contact. That adjusted line yards, um the FTN metric that I kind of cited earlier, they're in
30:28the bottom five of that. And I think you're just kind of feeling it. I mean, now we're going to Joe Milton at
30:33quarterback and we're hoping that that's a spark that his ability to throw and attack downfield and maybe be a little bit more mobile back there is going to
30:40mitigate some of these problems. So, it's I I um you know, Jordan Milada, their left tackle, is still really good. I like
30:50pieces of their offensive line. You're hoping Dickerson is rounding into form.
30:54You know, Tyler Steen is still reliable, but it's one of those groups where it's like in the most optimistic case, you
31:01hope everything kind of ties together and gels and maybe they work their way into that 15 range. Um because if things
31:09do go sideways or if they suffer another injury, I don't think the floor has fallen out of this group yet. I think
31:15things can get worse.
31:17>> Yeah. And there's rumors that uh Landon Dickerson could get traded at the deadline. So it could get worse in Philadelphia. Uh just a a terrible fall.
31:27Arizona at 22 overall. A slight improvement from the preseason.
31:31Baltimore at 23 overall. That's a disappointment. They play tonight. We'll see how that that offensive line settles in down the stretch, but they've dropped
31:39eight spots for you from the preseason ranking.
31:42>> And for them, we have not seen what they want to be yet. So, when they traded for Cam Jurgens, he was coming off a
31:52concussion, so he they didn't have him.
31:54Vega Yane, their first round right guard, which by the way was playing like an unbelievable level at center. Um he in the first game where Jurgens returns,
32:04he gets hurt. He hurts his MCL. So we've yet to see what they envision their starting five as. We haven't seen, you
32:10know, Ronnie Stanley, John Simpson, Jurgon's at center, Yana at right guard.
32:15We got it for maybe 17 or 20 snaps. So, like that's one where it's like I have to rank what I've seen, but I understand
32:22hopefully and you know once they kind of get some time to figure it out and come together, you know, that's one that, you
32:28know, that'll jump a team potentially like the Eagles, like the Titans, like the Giants, because Yana has been fantastic. I mean, the people who joke
32:36on social media that he's the offensive rookie of the year, no, he might he might be the offensive rookie of the
32:41year. Like, he that's that's not just I mean, who else would take it at this point, you We we talked about it um in
32:48the in the pre-show, but he was he was like a steal in the NFL draft where the only reason that you were able to get
32:54him where he went was because he's an interior offensive lineman and NFL teams sort of devalue that position. But, you know, he was a top five player in the
33:02draft and he looks like a guy who's going to be an allp pro for years. So, we'll keep an eye on that Ravens O line.
33:07The Jacobe Brassette trade, uh we'll see how that looks. I I'm optimistic about Brassette um with Declan Doyle. I think that's going to work out pretty well.
33:16You could do way way worse as a Lamar Jackson replacement than Brassette. Uh I think it speaks volumes with how Zflower
33:24should be valued down the stretch.
33:25Carolina at 24, slight improvement from the preseason. Miami at 25, only up one spot. We'll see how they they settle in
33:33the rest of the season. Another huge disappointment. And we'll see if this team can get a little bit better coming out of the by-week. But the Saints, I
33:42remember a lot of Saints beat reporters in the preseason saying, "This is our best offensive line in years." Uh, you had them at eight in the preseason, one
33:51of the biggest fallers. They're down to 26 overall. So, an 18 spot drop, catastrophic for Kell Moore and this New Orleans Saints. Your thoughts on this
34:02off offensive line rest of season and coming out of the by-week?
34:05>> It's so it's been massively disappointing and this was a team that I believed in. You addressed your biggest hole in the offensive line. You signed
34:12David Edwards to a big contract. Kelvin Banks played really well as a rookie.
34:17You expect him to ascend. Eric McCoy missed a lot of time last year. You hope that he's healthy. You have Tis Fuaga at
34:24right tackle who has been a really good run blocker, struggled in protection.
34:28So, this is a group where it's like, okay, and Cesar Ruiz is their right guard who's just fine. He's good. He's a
34:33league average level player. And so you look at the sum of all the parts and it's another one of those teams kind of
34:39like the Jets where you've invested so much into this group like I'm going to be optimistic and I really liked what I
34:45saw from Banks and so it's like okay good and then Kelvin Banks gets hurt and he's on a high ankle sprain and he's
34:51missed um I think he that happened in week two and we haven't seen him yet and he just recently was uh tabbed to be
34:59activated from the injured reserve so he may not he may be back this week maybe it's next week but he will be
35:05Um, Cesar Ruiz has missed the last two games with a knee injury. So, you've seen some injuries and then obviously the big one you the hope was that going
35:14out and getting Travis A10, Achan, ETN, however you whoever whatever style you want to go with um would kind of solidify your run game and give you some
35:24explosives cuz Alvin Chimera doesn't have it anymore. Kendra Miller, that's not really his style. like Devin Neil, even if back when he was on the team,
35:33like you know, that wasn't really his style. And so you're like, okay, this will be a good group. They run the ball,
35:39they move well. They have all these explosive weapons at wide receiver, you know, and Jordan Tyson we haven't seen yet. So I think this is a group when
35:47Banks comes back, when Ruiz comes back, I'm still optimistic that they can they will improve. I feel like they should.
35:54Um, you know, high ankle sprains don't necessarily impact offensive linemen the way they do skill players. It's a lot, you know, in in some ways, I guess. Um,
36:05and you're just kind of hoping like, okay, can we get back into that top 20 from there? Can we climb into the top
36:1015? Because this was a team that had playoff aspirations.
36:13>> They run a lot of plays. They, you know, last year they were an ascending unit and then the wheels kind of fell off.
36:20And so coming out of the by-week, can they get it on track? Can this group be healthy and can we see hopefully flashes
36:26of the promise I thought they had coming into the year?
36:29>> Yeah, it's been a really disappointing season, but you do get Jordan Tyson, like you said, Travis Travis Achan, CNN coming back. Um, we'll see. We'll see
36:38how this thing goes. Big- time disappointment this year. Um, still can be fantasy friendly at a number of positions, but offensive line not elite
36:47like we thought potentially in the preseason. Going down the rest of your rankings, Cleveland at 27, up four spots. They worked in a lot of new
36:54players this year. Slight improvement.
36:57Uh Commanders at 28, Texans at 29. We knew the Texans would be bad. We didn't know they'd be this bad on the O line.
37:05They're down at 29. And then interesting ranking here, the Raiders at 30 where they've been able to sort of not give up
37:13sacks at the the high rate of last year, but they can't seem to run the ball. Um, you have them docked eight spots.
37:20They're down to 30 overall. Thoughts on this Raiders offensive line? We know Clint Kubak is like an an incredible play caller. Last year he was able to
37:29rapidly improve Seattle's offensive line. Just hasn't been the same thing here in Vegas.
37:34>> Yeah, they I mean they went with a journeyman left guard Spencer Berford.
37:39He was with the 49ers for a while. Fine player. Obviously, their big signing was Tyler Linderbomb. that was the, you know, big big piece. And I think he's
37:48played well at times. It's they've had a rotating cast at right guard. Um it started with Jackson Powers Johnson. He got benched in week six. Um this past
37:58week, uh rookie, he was a tackle at Texas A&M, but he's a guard in the NFL.
38:04Trey Zoo, he played. He he was fine. I mean, it's it's hard when you know Colton Miller isn't what he used to be
38:12at left tackle. DJ Glaze has been a developmental right tackle who's more of an athlete at this point than a player.
38:19You know, they are they've only given up 11 sacks this year, but they're, if you look at it conversely, at the same time,
38:25um they are giving up pressure. They're 32% pressure, which is a bottom 10 mark in the NFL. So, a lot of that is just
38:32Kurt Cousins making it work. They're 2.42 42 um time to pressure bottom 10 in the NFL, but their time to throw is in
38:42the top 15. So, it's like Kurt Cousins is extending plays because he's a veteran. He knows where the pressures are coming from. He's able to extend and
38:50then he gets the ball out to Brock Bowers or he checks it down to Ashton Genty because apparently he just doesn't
38:55run the ball anymore, right? Um but but I think you even saw it with Mike Washington. You see where you see
39:01offensive line really show up is inside the five yard line. Ashton Genty has struggled to score short yardage touchdowns this year. Mike Washington,
39:10what was it last week? He was like 0 for7, 0 for8 inside the five. Like that's where the offensive line and
39:16that's one of the things too with like Jacksonville, they've been a really good unit. But if you look at Bashaw Tutin
39:22and even Chris Rodriguez, their touchdowns are coming from 15, 20 yards out. They're getting these big chunk explosives. And when you get into the
39:29condensed field, you're noticing it's more quick flow action to the flat.
39:33they're throwing the ball. Trevor Lawrence is throwing it into the end zone because their qual their offensive line aren't really people movers, you
39:40know, so the Raiders just haven't been able to mitigate that because Kirk Cousins just isn't that kind of mobile anymore where he can extend those plays
39:48and so, you know, the offensive line just isn't getting that first level movement and it's just really putting a lot of pressure on the quarterback.
39:56>> Yeah. Uh it's uh it's it's a tough one.
39:58I mean, we'll see how Vegas does this week against San Francisco. Uh Kirk Cousins is second in the NFL in touchdown passes right now. It really
40:06speaks volumes to Kubak. I would say let's check out Kubak's offensive line next year in 2027. I would imagine that this team puts a big emphasis on
40:16continuing to add talent there with Mendoza heading into year two and Kubak as well. You've got Green Bay at 32. Not
40:22a big uh surprise, but then let's talk about your 31st ranked defense to close out the show here. uh dropping 17 spots
40:29from your preseason ranking. It's just the same story as last year. Multiple offensive line injuries in LA. Literally happens again. It started out this
40:39summer with Tyler Batty's done for the year. Uh it just it just keeps spiraling.
40:45Very good offensive lineman continuing to miss time for LA. How bad is it for the Chargers right now?
40:51>> I it's catastrophic. I mean, you even see it in Justin Herbert's body language every single week. Like, he's just getting annihilated. And and I mean,
41:02they are allowing they've given up 23 sacks, but they're giving up um a 37.6% pressure rate. That's the worst in the
41:09NFL. Um they are towards the bottom, I guess, in time to throw. They're towards the bottom in time to pressure. And they
41:18aren't even able to pull the lever of the run game to try and give any relief.
41:22Um, you know, Joe Alt played left tackle this week because Rashan Slater is hurt again, but Joe Alt was previously hurt.
41:29There was a week where they started four rookies along their offensive line. I believe it was right before the by-week or two weeks ago. Um, Cole Strange
41:38played really well for Mike McDaniel last year in Miami, but then it's become pretty apparent that a lot of that was
41:43the fact that Aaron Brewer was probably the best center in football last year because it was able to cover up a lot of
41:49that. Um, you know, Jake Slaughter, second round rookie. A seer is hard to learn at the NFL level. Um, it's not,
41:57you don't always get guys where you just plug them in day one and they're an NFL starter. I think the plan for him was to
42:03just kind of develop him this year. Um, and maybe he wins the left guard job and it pretty quickly in training camp they
42:10took him out of that competition. So, it told you, okay, he's not ready. And then Bottes gets hurt and now he's their
42:16starting center. Um they've been rotating left guard all year. They've been rotating a tackle spot it feels like all year. They don't have any
42:24continuity. Um the run and like you know Hampton there's just no room for him to get up to speed. He's getting hit in the
42:30back field and he's a guy who needs that momentum. He needs to have a runway and when he gets to top speed then good luck
42:37tackling him. But like right now that's happening two yards in the back field.
42:41He's not getting an opportunity to get momentum and make these chunk plays. I I don't know. There's just no end in
42:49sight. I don't think I think this is just what it is this year. And you just hope that Justin Herbert doesn't suffer
42:55some catastrophic injury that's going to impact his 2027 season.
43:00>> Yeah. Well, he's going to feel better in 2027 when he's when he's throwing balls to Jeremiah Smith. At this rate, looks
43:05like they're going to be picking first overall. So, uh we'll see which way it goes. I mean, it's it's about as bad as
43:10it gets in LA. And we you can almost laugh at this point because it's it's like the collective enthusiasm we had
43:16for the Mike McDaniel offense. One of the biggest collective L's in fantasy is Mike McDaniel here, but the offensive line play uh certainly uh hinders
43:26everyone there. Uh but McDaniel's not exactly a miracle worker like we potentially thought he was. So really poor stuff there with LA. But awesome
43:34stuff with Dan Fornick. Again, Dan's big article drops in week 10. You can get that over at rotoawwire.com.
43:42Look for that article to drop. It's always sort of an appointment read. And then every week, Dan is updating his offensive line rankings at
43:50rotoawire.com. Elite stuff there. Uh Dan, let everybody know where they can find you, where you at on X and all that
43:56stuff.
43:57>> Yeah. Um on X, it's fornic.
44:03Um, you know, and I I tweet as kind of the day goes on and most of it's sarcastic. So, you know, feel free to to
44:10come back at me and get into a honest conversation about stuff, but usually I'm just trying to to, you know, rile
44:16people up a little bit. But when I see something good with offensive line, I try and tweet it out. If something looks
44:20good or looks bad, my goal is, you know, my background in in life is as an educator. And so I think that that's
44:26something that I try to bring to football when I bring it to writing or I bring it to offensive line or I bring it
44:32to football. Like I have playing experience, I have coaching experience.
44:36I think I see things a little bit different. So I love talking with people on social media. Um you just got to kind
44:42of take the jabs with it because you know why not? That's why it's fun, right? That's why we like sports. Um I'm
44:48writing at Rotoire. I'm writing at FTN Fantasy and I'm writing at Roto Baller this year. Um, so odds are if you
44:55frequent any of those sites, you'll probably come across some of my stuff.
44:59>> Yeah. And check out check out specifically the the ones over at Rotoire though for sure. Sure.
45:03>> Yeah. Those especially those are the best ones.
45:06>> Yeah, those are the best ones for sure and the most detail oriented. You don't want to go to these other sites. You
45:10want to always stick with Rotoire for sure. Yeah, for sure, man. And make sure you're following Dan. Look for Dan to
45:15appear on this show again. We're going to do another one of these before the fantasy playoffs. a quick update and some offensive lines you can trust
45:22heading into the fantasy playoffs. We're everywhere here at Rotoire. We're going to help you crush your leagues this season.
