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An underrated aspect of fantasy football is the impact of offensive lines. We have seen many seasons derailed and upsides capped by terrible offensive line play. Teams like the 2019 Rams saw their PFF offensive line rank go from 13 in the preseason to 31 after the year. This resulted in key players like Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, and Brandin Cooks failing to meet expectations. Using PFF’s end-of-season rank from 2021 vs. their most recent 2022 offense line rankings, let’s take a look at the biggest offensive line risers and fallers and the players that could be impacted in 2022.
Offensive Lines on the Rise
Team |
2022 OL Rank |
Previous OL Rank |
Ranking Differential |
---|---|---|---|
CINCINNATI BENGALS |
8 |
20 |
+12 |
NEW YORK GIANTS |
18 |
30 |
+12 |
DETROIT LIONS |
3 |
13 |
+10 |
GREEN BAY PACKERS |
5 |
14 |
+9 |
MIAMI DOLPHINS |
23 |
32 |
+9 |
HOUSTON TEXANS |
22 |
29 |
+7 |
CAROLINA PANTHERS |
24 |
31 |
+7 |
CLEVELAND BROWNS |
2 |
8 |
+6 |
Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Rank Differential: +12
Primary Impacted Player: Joe Mixon
Joe Mixon has suffered the most behind a Bengals offensive line that has been ranked outside the top 25 for most of his career. This is reflected in his career yards per attempt (YPA) of 4.1. The lack of efficiency on the ground didn’t stop Mixon from being an elite fantasy player. In the 2nd half of 2021, Mixon averaged 20.7 PPR PPG while averaging just 4 YPA. Now behind a top 10 offensive line, Mixon will most likely see his efficiency rise. This coupled with his elite workload should result in him taking his game to new heights this season.
Team: New York Giants
Rank Differential: +12
Primary Impacted Player: Saquon Barkley
You probably can’t find a player who had a better offseason than Saquon Barkley. First, he gets a new coaching staff that features Brian Daboll. A coach who helped players like Peyton Hills, Jamaal Charles, and Reggie Bush all set career highs in rushing yards. Next was the improvements upfront. PFF’s 2022 offensive rankings have the Giants inside the top 20. This is huge news for Barkley who suffered behind a line that ranked in the bottom three in 2020 and 2021. Last season, 11 of the 13 RBs to outkick their ADP by five spots or more had a top 20 preseason PFF offensive line grade. This improvement up front could help put Barkley back on the RB1 map as he is currently going as the RB13 according to Razzball.com ADP.
Team: Detroit Lions
Rank Differential: +10
Primary Impacted Player: D’Andre Swift
As exceptional as D’Andre Swift was in 2021 before his injury, it’s hard to imagine that he only averaged 4 YPA. Yes, the Lions offensive line did finish just outside the top 10 in PFF’s end-of-season rankings but were outside the top 20 in adjusted line yards. Now heading into 2022, the Lions are set to bring back all five starters including last year’s first-round pick Penei Sewell. The continuity up front should allow Swift to improve his efficiency on the ground. A spike in YPA along with his elite pass game usage makes Swift a dark horse for RB1 overall this season.
Offensive Lines on the Decline
Team |
2022 OL Rank |
Previous OL Rank |
Ranking Differential |
---|---|---|---|
DALLAS COWBOYS |
6 |
1 |
-5 |
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS |
32 |
25 |
-7 |
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS |
15 |
6 |
-9 |
CHICAGO BEARS |
31 |
22 |
-9 |
ARIZONA CARDINALS |
25 |
15 |
-10 |
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS |
14 |
3 |
-11 |
TENNESSEE TITANS |
27 |
16 |
-11 |
Team: Tennessee Titans
Rank Differential: -11
Primary Impacted Player: Derrick Henry
Derrick Henry was an absolute beast last season bulldozing his way to 23.4 PPR PPG through the first half of 2021. Unfortunately, it came to a crashing halt as he suffered a foot injury essentially ending his season for fantasy purposes. The good news for Henry is he should be at full strength heading into the season. The bigger issue for Henry now is the uncertainty of his offensive line. Losing stud Guard Roger Saffold and RT David Quessenberry has seen the Titans’ offensive line rank fall outside the top 20 for the first time since Henry has been the lead back. For a player like Henry who relies so much on the ground game to produce points, this offensive line deterioration could result in a slip in production.
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Rank Differential: -5
Primary Impacted Player: Ezekiel Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott’s reign as an elite back might have ended in 2021. Elliot saw his touches drop from over 350 in 2018 – 2019 to just 284 in 2021. His 16.7 touches per game were three less than in 2020 and six less than what he saw in 2019. This dip in volume has resulted in Elliott going from the RB5 in PPR PPG in 2019 to RB19 in 2021. Now with the Cowboys losing two key staters in Connor Williams and La’el Collins, the once elite offensive line could have holes in 2022. This is a concern for Elliott who hasn’t topped 4.2 YPA over the past two seasons. This production came even with the Cowboys offensive line ranking #1. Any issues upfront could result in Elliott falling further this season.
Team: Chicago Bears
Rank Differential: -9
Primary Impacted Player: David Montgomery
There is a lot of moving parts for David Montgomery heading into 2022. First, we have a new coaching staff that has zero ties to him. The second is how Justin Fields will respond after a rough 1st season. Montgomery struggled in the games with Fields only averaging 13.3 PPR PPG. That was nearly two points less than what he averaged with the other QBs in 2021. The final issue is the offensive line who lost their two highest graded players according to PFF in Jason Peters and James Daniels. This has resulted in the Bears falling to 31st in the latest PFF offensive line rankings. Montgomery already struggled with efficiency on the ground only averaging 3.8 YPA last season. Now with all these question marks surrounding him, it might be best to pivot to a top 10-15 WR in the back of the 3rd round in 2022.
Don’t forget to check out the latest offensive rankings article over on PFF.com!
2022 NFL offensive line rankings
Sources: Razzball, Player Profiler, RotoHeat, Fantasy Pros, Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, Football Outsiders, Sharp Football Analysis Spotrac, Overthecap, Ourlads, Bestball 10s, Underdog Fantasy, Sleeper, Yahoo, ESPN and NFC