Still Curtain
FanSided

Ranking the AFC North offensive lines for the 2019 season

By Tommy Jaggi

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 09: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a first quarter touchdown with Alejandro Villanueva #78 and Maurkice Pouncey #53 while playing the New York Jets at Heinz Field on October 9, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 09: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a first quarter touchdown with Alejandro Villanueva #78 and Maurkice Pouncey #53 while playing the New York Jets at Heinz Field on October 9, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Many fans could care less about studying the offensive line, but games can be won and lost in the trenches. The Steelers possessed perhaps the best offensive line in the league last season. They paved the way for James Conner and helped keep Ben Roethlisberger upright as they allowed only 24 sacks. Here are my AFC North offensive line rankings for the 2019 season:

4. Cincinnati Bengals

Pro Football Outsiders is a great resource for evaluating offensive lines. They graded the Cincinnati Bengals as the 22nd best line in run blocking and 19th best pass protection. The Bengals lost their best offensive lineman, Andrew Whitworth, to the Rams two years ago, and haven’t been the same since.

Adding Jonah Williams in the first round was certainly a step in the right direction for the Bengals, but outside of him, there isn’t a lot of talent to go around. Cincinnati’s lackluster unit should finish as the worst offensive line in the AFC North yet again this year.

3. Cleveland Browns

Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Outsiders disagree on where to rank the Browns offensive line. Where PFF had them ranked 2nd in the league last season, Pro Football Outsiders scored them as the 18th best in run blocking and 16th in pass protection. The Browns’ offensive line is rock-solid in the middle, but there starting tackles were ranked 63rd and 50th in the NFL by PFF last year.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers offensive line units these past few years is perhaps the best their franchise has ever had. However, they are among the oldest group in the league, and there is nowhere to go but down.

Though PFF ranked the Steelers offensive line 1st in 2018, the loss of Mike Munchak can’t be understated, and some of their older lineman may start to decline. Pro Football Outsiders had the Steelers ranked 15th in run blocking and 4th in pass protection a year ago, but these numbers are going to be hard to repeat.

1. Baltimore Ravens

The Steelers line isn’t digressing as much as the Ravens line is improving. Former 1st round pick, Ronnie Stanley, was fantastic down the stretch has emerged as one of the best left tackles in the league.

Marshall Yanda is still fantastic and massive tackle, Orlando Brown, was a pleasant surprise as a 3rd round draft choice last year. Pro Football Outsiders ranked the Ravens 9th and 8th in run blocking and pass protection, respectively, last season. As a younger group, the Ravens have potential to be the very best offensive line unit in the game.

Home/Steelers News