- The Bears made a big splash: Chicago prioritized its offensive line this offseason, particularly remodeling the interior with Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman.
- The Vikings bulked up for the NFC North arms race: Minnesota spent big to upgrade its trenches and used its first-round pick on an offensive lineman.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Three of the top five free-agent signings in total money and three of the top nine picks in the 2025 NFL Draft were offensive linemen. NFL teams made improving the trenches a clear emphasis this offseason, and we're looking at which teams improved their units the most heading into 2025.
Chicago Bears
The Bears wasted no time in improving their offensive line this offseason, building the foundation for a new era under head coach Ben Johnson. The headline move was trading for two-time All-Pro Joe Thuney, who has been one of the most consistent offensive linemen in the NFL, with a 74.2 PFF overall grade or higher in every season since 2017.
General manager Ryan Poles also traded a sixth-round pick to reunite Jonah Jackson with his old offensive coordinator. Jackson hasn’t graded above 70.0 in any season of his career, but with Johnson knowing the player well from their time together in Detroit, the organization will hope to get the best out of him in Chicago.
The Bears’ most impactful move of the offseason may be the signing of Drew Dalman, who was PFF’s fifth-highest-graded center last year following a stellar 2023 season in which he finished as the fourth-highest-graded player at the position.
Considering all of these moves along the offensive line and the addition of some offensive weaponry with their first two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, Chicago should expect to see a major leap from second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.
Minnesota Vikings
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah broke the bank in free agency to repair an offensive line that crumbled at the end of last season. Minnesota gave guard Will Fries a massive five-year, $87.7 million contract after his impressive start to the 2024 season was cut short due to a fractured tibia. It's a major gamble from the Vikings’ front office, as Fries had put together two sub-par seasons before his impressive five-game stretch in 2024.
Fries will be joined by his former teammate Ryan Kelly on the interior after the Vikings gave him a two-year, $18 million deal. The former Alabama center has had a bit of an up-and-down career, but he enjoyed the highest-graded season of his career in 2023 and followed it up with a solid 67.0 PFF overall grade last year.
The Vikings concluded their offensive line makeover by selecting tackle Donovan Jackson with the 24th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Jackson played guard and tackle during his career at Ohio State, and he graded above the 75th percentile in PFF run-blocking grade on both zone and gap schemes in college. Minnesota's revamped offensive line, along with the return of Christian Darrisaw, will look to provide a clean pocket for J.J. McCarthy to distribute the football to an impressive set of weapons in 2025.
New England Patriots
Drake Maye was surrounded by one of the worst supporting casts in the NFL as a rookie, and New England was determined to improve that situation this offseason. The front office focused on the offensive line at the beginning of free agency by signing tackle Morgan Moses, center Garrett Bradbury and guard Wes Schweitzer.
Moses was an above-average tackle from 2020 to 2023, with PFF overall grades of 78.6 or better during three of those four seasons. However, the 34-year-old lineman’s play fell off precipitously in 2024 on his way to a 63.3 PFF overall grade for the Jets. New England will hope that Moses has a few more good years left of protecting the edge during the beginning of Maye’s career.
Garrett Bradbury and third-round draft pick Jared Wilson will likely compete for the starting center job in 2025. Bradbury has had a bit of a disappointing career after the Vikings selected him in the first round in 2019, whereas Wilson may be one of the steals of this year’s draft as the top center on PFF's big board.
The Patriots also picked up PFF’s top offensive tackle in the draft, selecting Will Campbell with the fourth-overall pick. While most of the pre-draft conversation was about the former LSU Tiger’s arm length, he held up just fine at tackle in the SEC, ranking in the 95th percentile of FBS tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets since 2022.
Washington Commanders
After an incredible rookie season from Jayden Daniels, the Commanders are hoping they’ve locked down their offensive tackle spots for years to come following the trade acquisition of Laremy Tunsil and the selection of Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr. in the 2025 NFL Draft's first round.
Even though the Texans’ offensive line struggled last year, Tunsil still managed to earn an 89.1 PFF pass-blocking grade, marking his fifth season with a PFF pass-blocking grade of 84.9 or better. While Tunsil did struggle with penalties in 2024, he should bring some much-needed stability to the Commanders’ offensive line for at least the next two seasons.
Washington is betting that Josh Conerly Jr. can hold up at tackle in the NFL, but he may project better as a guard. Either way, the Commanders are getting a good athlete who earned a 78.1 PFF grade on true pass sets last season. Washington also made a couple of low-cost signings along the offensive line to add some depth as the team looks to make another deep postseason run.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars joined this group of big spenders along the offensive line by giving significant contracts to Patrick Mekari and Robert Hainsey this offseason. Mekari had a very solid six-year run with the Baltimore Ravens, but he is coming off the worst year of his career (59.0 PFF overall grade in 2024). Jacksonville is betting that the 27-year-old Mekari can return to form and solidify the interior offensive line for quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
After putting together a decent season in 2022, Hainsey really struggled in Tampa Bay in 2023 and was relegated to the bench last year for a Buccaneers team that had one of the best offensive lines in the league. After giving him a three-year, $21 million contract, the Jaguars are likely expecting Hainsey to return to the starting lineup this season.
Jacksonville capped off the offseason by spending a third-round pick on West Virginia tackle Wyatt Milum. The 12th-ranked tackle on PFF's big board put together a stellar career with the Mountaineers in which he ranked in the 97th percentile or better in both PFF run-blocking and pass-blocking grades while not allowing a single sack over the past three seasons.
New head coach Liam Coen will look for the injection of new talent along the offensive line to help his offense reach its full potential in 2025.
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