One of the key factors that can really help your decision between two seemingly equal players is reviewing the quality of the offensive line
for those players. All things being equal, a player that plays behind a very solid line brings more stability to the table
relative to a player that plays behind a suspect line. Coupled with a Strength of Schedule Analysis, you can significantly
stack the fantasy odds in your favor for having a very successful draft. At the end of day, it is these subtleties that
can help provide a big boost to your fantasy football draft selections, helping you select players with favorable circumstances while
avoiding potential duds that can crush your team.
How did the Docs create the FootballDocs 2006 Offensive Line Rankings?
Similar to our other fantasy football projections, a very intense level of detail and analysis has been carefully built into the FootballDocs
projected 2006 offensive line rankings. This provides an extremely comprehensive evaluation of each and every line in the NFL.
Every effort has been made to separate the offensive line contribution to its 2005 team offensive success. The evaluation goes well
beyond just looking at total sacks allowed and other traditional, first-level factors. For one, assuming every team in the NFL had exactly
the same offensive line, simply the teams that had the most pass attempts would yield the most aggregate sacks allowed. Consequently,
although sacks allowed can be an indictor of line quality, it is not a true, accurate reflection of line quality. Similar examples can
be made with other first-level pass blocking ratings as well as run blocking ratings. Rather, ratings were normalized between each and
every team in the league. Long runs were discarded from rushing yards per carry in an effort to extract line contribution to the success of the play. Several
other factors were included to provide a baseline rating in both run and pass blocking based on 2005 performance. Next, 2006 run and
pass blocking projections were made for each and every offensive line. Factors that were considered include key additions, key losses,
changes in offensive line coaches, and other statistically significant considerations. The end result is a very detailed, thorough
evaluation and projection for each offensive line.
The Docs have broken down our 2006 projected offensive line rankings in a very clean, user friendly format. Both projected
2006 run blocking rankings and 2006 pass blocking rankings are given, as well as an in-depth commentary for each team, highlighting
key additions and losses. These include Pro-Bowl level talent, other experienced talent, significant NFL offensive line rookies,
and key offensive line coaches. While these are all included in our Total Draft Package, we wanted to provide a few, isolated examples
to show folks the value in offensive line rankings.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: (2006 Run Blocking - #30; 2006 Pass Blocking - #23)
Newcomers RB Reggie Bush and QB Drew Brees have some good news and bad news
regarding the men that will help him gain the yards and help earn them the
big bucks in 2006. First, the good: Pro-Bowl Right Guard Jermane
Mayberry will be returning to the Black and Gold this year. Now the
bad: 2-time Pro-Bowl Center LeCharles Bentley has been shipped to Cleveland.
Ouch. In addition, the Saints have lost veteran Left Tackle Wayne Gandy
to the Falcons. Double Ouch. Sure, both starting guards have
experience in the New Orleans system, and the Saints have brought in Jeff
Faine from Cleveland to play center, but Faine is no Bentley, and the flow
of offensive line talent leaving New Orleans is greater than the flow of
talent coming into New Orleans. There is some hope for the Saints with
the development of Tackle Jammal Brown after a fairly respectable 2005 rookie
campaign; however, there is just more downside than upside for the line this
year. The result? A very consistent middle-of-the-pack offensive
line rating over the past three years is now going to join the land of the
middle-to-bottom-of-the-pack offensive line rating at the conclusion of the
2006 season.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS: (2006 Run Blocking - #12; 2006 Pass Blocking - #16)
Easily, the Minnesota offensive line is the biggest mover and shaker entering
the 2006 season. With its offensive line rating near the bottom of
the league in 2005, Minnesota went out and secured a couple of big time names
to add to its starting roster. The first headline acquisition was scooping
up 3-time Pro-Bowl Left Guard Steve Hutchinson from Seattle. Hutchinson
is a beast and will be sorely missed in the Pacific Northwest. While
the second acquisition is not an offensive line player, he does play a critical
role in the offensive blocking schemes, particularly when it comes to clearing
out bodies that may find their way in a hole created by the offensive line.
Without further ado, that player is 2-time Pro-Bowl fullback Tony Richardson.
Richardson is another key player that will be sorely missed (in this case
in Kansas City) while welcomed with open arms in Minnesota. The additions
of Hutchinson and Richardson will provide a huge boost to this group.
With Vikings line staple and 4-time Pro-Bowl Center Matt Birk ready for another
season in the Twin Cities, Minnesota’s line performance should grade substantially
better in 2006. While its 2006 performance should not prove to be a
worst-to-first story, it should develop into a worst-to-a-solid-middle-of-the-pack
story.
MIAMI DOLPHINS: (2006 Run Blocking - #23; 2006 Pass Blocking - #12)
The pieces are slowing falling in place for the Miami faithful. Second
year head coach, Nick Saban, is starting to build a playoff-caliber team
and championship contender down in South Beach. After 2002, Miami’s
offensive line continually got worse each year until the arrival of Nick
Saban in 2005. One of Saban’s first moves as Head Coach was hiring
one of the most respected offensive line coaches in the league, Hudson Houck.
Both Saban and Houck revitalized the franchise and brought energy to a line
that desperately needed it. There was a dramatic improvement in 2005
compared to 2004, where Miami’s offensive line rated as one of the worst
in the NFL. While this group lacks any Pro-Bowl caliber credentials,
there is talent, and they did play extremely well together as a cohesive
unit in 2005. For the most part, the line is fairly young. Both
Center, Rex Hadnot, and Right Tackle, Vernon Carey, will benefit from
another year of NFL experience and will improve from an already solid foundation.
As far as new faces are concerned, the Dolphins did acquire L.J. Shelton
in the off-season from the Browns, who at 6’ 6”, ~350 lbs, and eight years
of NFL experience, is projected to be their starting Left Tackle.
Shelton brings a veteran presence to complement a young, cohesive group.
With off-season headline acquisition QB Daunte Culpepper coupled with rising
stars RB Ronnie Brown and WR Chris Chambers, the sun is not the only thing
that will be bright in South Beach in future years.
The remainder of our offensive line rankings and in-depth profiles are included in
the FootballDocs Total
Draft Package, which also contains our top 450+ overall player rankings and in-depth projections, 286
in-depth player profiles, 2006 Sleepers, Draft Advisor Software for custom player rankings and tier based
drafting for your league scoring format, 85 page printable Draft Magazine, offensive line rankings (run and pass), strength of schedule
analysis (offensive run, pass, fantasy defense, each with regular season and playoffs), and more... all updated each
and every week to make sure you have the latest and greatest information and player rankings for your fantasy football draft.
