The Super Bowl is done and dusted, which means all 32 NFL teams are firmly into team-building season. The 2022 NFL offseason is all about 31 teams trying to build a roster capable of winning next year’s Super Bowl, while the defending champions make sure they can retain their crown.
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The big debate is where teams should invest resources. They can attack positions of need in free agency, the draft and even via trade. In this series, we will take a look at each position group and where the strengths lie in each of those areas for any teams in need, now looking at the offensive line.
Best OL in Free Agency
- Terron Armstead (Rank among PFF's top 200 free agents: 2)
- Orlando Brown Jr. (9)
- Ryan Jensen (12)
- Brandon Scherff (18)
- Laken Tomlinson (26)
- Duane Brown (32)
- Connor Williams (38)
- James Daniels (40)
- Ben Jones (46)
- Austin Corbett (53)
This year’s free-agent crop of offensive linemen may be a little low on star power, but the depth of capable starters is outstanding and goes well beyond the top 10 players listed here.
Terron Armstead has been one of the best left tackles in the NFL when healthy, but that is a bigger caveat for him than most players. Armstead has never cleared 1,000 snaps in a season including the playoffs despite the New Orleans Saints making plenty of playoff appearances during his time there. In 2021, he played fewer than 500 snaps, but he posted his seventh consecutive year with a pass-blocking grade above 80.0. Armstead has outstanding technique and tape, but his injury history might scare off a team looking to hand him a huge contract.
Orlando Brown Jr. justified the deal the Kansas City Chiefs made to acquire him and would be a surprise to reach free agency. If he did, he brings real value as a player who can play both left and right tackle in any scheme.
Ryan Jensen and Brandon Scherff are both elite talents on the interior, with Scherff earning a PFF grade of at least 72.5 every year of his career in Washington.
A wild-card name on the list is Duane Brown. He has been one of the best left tackles in the league over his NFL career and made a massive improvement to the Seattle Seahawks‘ offensive line when the team acquired him. Brown is now 36 years old, and his 71.5 PFF grade last season was his lowest since he was a rookie. Brown may still be able to bounce back to elite levels for a year or two, but it could also be the start of a steeper decline.
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2022 NFL free agency rankings for every position
via PFF.com
Connor Williams, James Daniels, Ben Jones, Austin Corbett and others represent solid starting options on the interior. None are elite players, and they may lose badly when they lose, but they would be upgrades for many teams with disastrous players on the interior.
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