Offensive Linemen (16)
Tony Boselli (2022), Alan Faneca (2021), Steve Hutchison (2020), Kevin Mawae (2019), Joe Thomas (2023)
Modern Positional Average
Offensive Linemen: Joe Thomas (2023), Tony Boselli (2022) Alan Faneca (2021), Steve Hutchinson (2020) and Kevin Mawae (2019).
As we progress in football analytics, it is easier to calculate the effectiveness of Offensive Lineman more than ever before. We will be adding more metrics in the future (time did not permit it for this year), but games are won and lost in the trenches, and football fans are visually divested there.
Here are the statistics that we are using based on the last group of Offensive Lineman to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
- Games Played: 174.8
- Approximate Value: 188
- Approximate Value per Games Played: 0.6760
- Games Started: 173
- Approximate Value per Games Started: 0.6832
- Approximate Value per Five-Year Peak: 65.4
- Approximate Value’s Best Five Results: 68.0
- Pro Bowls: 7.8
- First Team All-Pros*: 4.8
- Super Bowl Wins 0.4
- Super Bowl Appearances 0.2
*This is an aggregate of the Top Five finishes (5th = 1, 4th = 2, 3rd = 3, 2nd = 4th, 1st = 5)
**This is a reminder that the All-Pros we use are from the AP.
Stats
- Games 174.8
- Approximate Value 118
- Approximate Value per Game 0.6760
- Games Started 173
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.6832
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 65.4
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 68.0
- Pro Bowls 7.8
- First Team AP All-Pros 4.8
- Super Bowl Championships 0.2
- Super Bowl Appearances 0.4
#5 Overall, Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers, Offensive Tackle, #1 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #20, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #33, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #35. 2018-23*
Aging like wine, we love the story of Trent Williams, who was one of the better Offensive Linemen in Washington history, who wanted out after he felt that the team misdiagnosed a dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, a growth that was determined to be a type of cancer in 2019, but was dismissed by the Redskins medical team in 2013. He did not play at all in 2019 and wanted out, landing in San Francisco in 2020, where he has been a First Team All-Pro the last three years and now has the most Pro Bowls (11) of any active Offensive Lineman.
What Williams has accomplished in San Francisco has cemented a bronze bust.
*Williams sat out in 2019.
Stats
- Games 188 (+13.2)
- Approximate Value 134 (+16)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.7128 (+0.0368)
- Games Started 187 (+14)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.7166 (+0.0334)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 61 (-4.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 71 (+3)
- Pro Bowls 11 (+3.2)
- First Team AP All-Pros 3 (-1.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 1 (+0.6)
#25 Overall, Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts, Left Guard, #2 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #29, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #42, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #51, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #78, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #89. Peak Period: 2018-22
No other Offensive Linemen who debuted in 2018 have been as good as Nelson. Seven years don’t make the Hall for an O-Lineman (well, it did for Tony Boselli), but when you lay out a three-year streak of First Team All-Pro with a Pro Bowl every year, this bodes well for a bust in Canton. Nelson’s AV/G is well over the MPA, which is very impressive. If he can string together a decade of Pro Bowls and eventually add an All-Decade nod, Nelson will be hard to keep out.
Stats
- Games 112 (-62.8)
- Approximate Value 79 (-39)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.7054 (+0.0294)
- Games Started 112 (-61)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.7054 (+0.0222)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 60 (-5.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 63 (-5)
- Pro Bowls 7 (-0.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 3 (-1.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)
#27 Overall, Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles, Right Tackle, #3 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #40, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #57, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #107, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #143. Peak Period 2017-18/2022-24
When you are on the same Offensive Line as Jason Kelce, you fall easily into the shadows. As Kelce’s teammate, Johnson won a Super Bowl, went to five Pro Bowls (2017-19 & 2022-23), and was twice a First Team All-Pro, cementing him as one of the top Tackles in Football. Following Kelce’s retirement in 2023, Johnson accomplished something that Kelce could not do: win a second Super Bowl. That occurred last season, when Johnson added Pro Bowl number six. How much does Johnson’s legacy increase if Philadelphia wins it all again this year?
Stats
- Games 158 (-16.8)
- Approximate Value 108 (-10)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.6835 (+0.0075)
- Games Started 158 (-15)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.6713 (-0.0119)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 64 (-1.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 66 (-2)
- Pro Bowls 6 (-1.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 2 (-2.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 2 (+1.8)
- Super Bowl Appearances 3 (+2.6)
#30 Overall, David Bahktiari, Free Agent, Left Tackle, #4 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #30, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #27, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #30, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #58, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #56. Peak Period: 2016-2020
Bakhtiari was Aaron Rodgers' top Offensive Lineman for years, and for a time, it looked like he was criminally disrespected by Pro Bowl and All-Pro voters. That would change, but shortly after, his injuries held him to 13 Games from 2021 to 2023. He is now a Free Agent and might never play another down in the NFL. If that is the case, did he do enough?
It's likely not, as the logjam for Offensive Linemen is looking a lot like Wide Receivers, and the road will be hard. Bakhtiari will, though, enter the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame early, and hopefully, he will do one of his beer speed chugs.
Stats
- Games 131 (-43.8)
- Approximate Value 102 (-16)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.7786 (+0.1026)
- Games Started 131 (-42)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.7786 (+0.0954)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 68 (+2.6)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 68
- Pro Bowls 3 (-4.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 2 (-2.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)
#36 Overall, Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns, Left Guard, #5 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #46, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #60, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #91, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #143. Peak Period: 2018-22
Bitonio is now on a seven-year run of Pro Bowls, and three years ago, he put forth his best campaign to date with his second First Team All-Pro nod. No other Offensive Linemen have risen more over the last four seasons than the Guard, who has been Cleveland's most consistent offensive figure in the past seven years.
Stats
- Games 161 (-13.8)
- Approximate Value 89 (-29)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.5528 (-0.1232)
- Games Started 161 (-12)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.5528 (-0.1304)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 59 (-6.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 59 (-9)
- Pro Bowls 7 (-0.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 2 (-2.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)
#60 Overall, Duane Brown, Free Agent, Offensive Tackle, #6 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #54, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #86, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #90, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #95, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #122. Peak Period: 2011-15
Brown enters the season as a Free Agent, and if his career has come to an end, has he done enough to become a Hall of Fame inductee?
He likely hasn’t, bit leaves behind 220 Games Played (218 Starts) and should be acknowledged in any Houston Texans Hall of Fame. He could still find work in 2025 as a veteran presence on a contending team.
Stats
- Games 215 (+40.2)
- Approximate Value 127 (+9)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.5907 (-0.0853)
- Pro Bowls 5 (-2.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 1 (-3.8)
#62 Overall, Orlando Brown, Cincinnati Bengals, Tackle, #7 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #66, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #93. Peak Period 2019-23.
Orlando Brown begins his eighth season, his third in Cincinnati, where the Tackle will look to win his second Super Bowl (his first coming in Kansas City). Brown had a four-year streak of Pro Bowls (2019-22), but his run with the Bengals has taken him off that upper tier of Tackles, though he is capable of returning to that level.
Stats
- Games 109 (-65.8)
- Approximate Value 72 (-46)
- Approximate Value per Game .6606 (-0.0154)
- Games Started 103 (-70)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.6990 (+0.0158)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 60 (-5.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 60 (-8)
- Pro Bowls 4 (-3.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 0 (-4.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 1 (+0.8)
- Super Bowl Appearances 1 (+0.6)
#64 Overall, Joe Thuney, Chicago Bears, Left Guard, #8 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #75, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #120, 2022 Pre-Season Rank: #140. Peak Period: 2020-24
Joe Thuney is finally getting his due as one of the top pass protectors in football, and you can ask both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes how good he is at it. Thuney has been a starter in four Super Bowl Championships (two for New England and two for Kansas City) and is on a three-year run of Pro Bowls, and was a First Team All-Pro in the last two. He now joins Chicago to lead their O-Line, and what he does in the Windy City will decide if he is a Hall of Famer or not.
Stats
- Games 146 (-28.8)
- Approximate Value 90 (-28)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.6164 (-0.0596)
- Games Started 146 (-27)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.6164 (-0.0668)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 52 (-13.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 56 (-12)
- Pro Bowls 3 (-4.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 2 (-2.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 4 (+3.8)
- Super Bowl Appearances 5 (+4.6)
#67 Overall, Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Right Tackle, #9 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #94, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #105, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #119. Peak Period: 2020-24
Wirfs was the highest-drafted offensive lineman in the 2020 draft, and there is no doubt that he has met Tampa’s expectations. One of the best Tackles over the last four seasons, Wirfs played a significant part in Tampa Bay's previous Super Bowl win and has helped them reach the playoffs every season since his arrival.
Wirfs enters 2025 on a four-year Pro Bowl run, and he was a First Team All-Pro last season.
Stats
- Games 79 (-95.8)
- Approximate Value 63 (-55)
- Approximate Value per Game .7975 (+0.1215)
- Games Started 79 (-94)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.6975 (+0.0143)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 63 (-2.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 63 (-5)
- Pro Bowls 4 (-3.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 2 (-2.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 1 (+0.8)
- Super Bowl Appearances 1 (+0.6)
#68 Overall, Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions, Tackle, #10 Offensive Lineman
2023: Pre-Season Rank: #121. Peak Period: 2021-24*
Standing at 6'5” and 330 pounds, Penei Sewell can state that going into 2025, he is the most athletic and explosive Tackle in the game of football. One of the rare Linemen that is dominant on the run and pass, his power and speed have made him and many around him All-Pros. Only a four-year veteran, Sewell has already been named a First Team All-Pro twice.
*Sewell has only played four seasons.
Stats
- Games 67 (-107.8)
- Approximate Value 55 (-63)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.8209 (+0.1449)
- Games Started 67 (-106)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.8209 (+0.1377)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 55 (-10.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 55 (-13)
- Pro Bowls 3 (-4.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 2 (-2.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)
#72 Overall, Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills, Left Tackle, #11 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #107. Peak Period: 2020-24
Dion Dawkins is currently on a four-year streak of Pro Bowls, during which time he has an Approximate Value of at least 12. If he can keep that up over the next three seasons, his Hall of Fame chances will skyrocket. Throw in a Super Bowl while guarding Josh Allen, and you will have something truly special.
Stats
- Games 128 (-46.8)
- Approximate Value 76 (-42)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.5938 (-0.0822)
- Games Started 122 (-51)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.6230 (-0.0602)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 59 (-6.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 59 (-9)
- Pro Bowls 4 (-3.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 0 (-4.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)
#75 Overall, Laremy Tunsil, Washington Commanders, Offensive Tackle, #12 Offensive Lineman
2024: Pre-Season Rank #107, 2023: Pre-Season Rank: #143. Peak Period: 2019-20/2022-24
In 2025, Laremy Tunsil became a Washington Commander and joined a team that shocked the football world by making it to the 2024 NFC Championship.
Light on his feet and a master of defending the pass rush, Tunsil has been a Pro Bowl Selection five of the last six years (all with Houston) but has never been an AP All-Pro. A monster season on a Super Bowl Championship would change that.
Stats
- Games 125 (-49.8)
- Approximate Value 66 (-52)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.5280 (-0.148)
- Games Started 125 (-48)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.5280 (-0.1552)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 46 (-19.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 46 (-22)
- Pro Bowls 5 (-2.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 0 (-4.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)
#91 Overall, Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs, Center, #13 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #124. Peak Period: 2021-24*
Last season, we said that Creed Humphrey was one of the best Centers going into the year, but as the year switches to 2025, is it safe to say that the four-year vet is now the best Center in the National Football League?
Humphrey already turned heads as a rookie, finishing third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, and he is already a pivotal part of two Super Bowl Championship teams. A three-time Pro Bowler, Humphrey earned a First Team All-Pro for the first time and will likely score more.
There is a void to fill (left by Jason Kelce) for the most famous active Center in football, and Creed could be that replacement.
*Humphrey has only played four seasons.
Stats
- Games 68 (-106.8)
- Approximate Value 43 (-75)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.6078 (-0.0682)
- Games Started 68 (-105)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 43 (+42.3168)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 0.6078 (-64.7922)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 43 (-25)
- Top Five Aggregated MVP Finishes 43 (+43)
- Pro Bowls 3 (-4.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 1 (-3.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 2 (+1.8)
- Super Bowl Appearances 3 (+2.6)
#97 Overall, Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore Ravens, Offensive Tackle, #14 Offensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #137, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #123. Peak Period 2017-18/2022-24
Ronnie Stanley has been with the Ravens for eight seasons, and in 2019, he was largely regarded as the top Tackle in the sport. Injuries caused him to miss a plethora of contests in the two years after, but he kept striving to get back to peak condition, and last year, he was healthy again, and rightfully earned his first Pro Bowl since ’19.
Stanley has to remain healthy to get back into the HOF mix that he was in five years ago.
Stats
- Games 104 (-70.8)
- Approximate Value 67 (-51)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.6442 (-0.0318)
- Games Started 104 (-69)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.6442 (-0.039)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 53 (-12.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 53 (-15)
- Pro Bowls 2 (-5.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 1 (-3.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)
#100 Overall, Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons, Right Guard, #15 Offensive Lineman
2024 2023 Pre-Season Rank #149. Peak Period: 2020-24
Chris Lindstrom has slowly turned into one of the best Guards in football and is on a three-year streak of Pro Bowls and Second Team All-Pros. Considered one of the top Guards on a one-on-one, Lindstrom could be a First Team All-Pro this year.
Stats
- Games 88 (-86.8)
- Approximate Value 47 (-71)
- Approximate Value per Game 0.5349 (-0.1411)
- Games Started 88 (-85)
- Approximate Value per Games Started 0.5340 (-0.1492)
- Approximate Value: Five-Year Peak 44 (-21.4)
- Approximate Value: Best Five Years 44 (-24)
- Pro Bowls 3 (-4.8)
- First Team AP All-Pros 0 (-4.8)
- Super Bowl Championships 0 (-0.2)
- Super Bowl Appearances 0 (-0.4)