With the new league year just around the corner, it's time for all 32 NFL teams to turn their attention to NFL free agency in a bid to improve their rosters for a new campaign.
Here are the top free agents at interior offensive line, taken from PFF's free agency rankings.
Editor's note: For up-to-the-minute updates based on everything we’re hearing around the NFL, go to PFF's free agency rankings, where you can sort by position, team needs, and more all offseason long.
Click here to jump to a position:
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | iOL | DI | EDGE | LB | CB | S
1. OG Isaac Seumalo
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Seumalo entered 2022 with some uncertainty after missing a ton of time with injuries over the 2020-21 seasons, and after the Eagles used a second-round pick on interior offensive lineman Cam Jurgens, but Seumalo logged more than 1,000 snaps in 2022 and had a huge bounceback year, earning a career-best 75.2 overall grade.
Seumalo was the model of consistency not just from a health standpoint, earning just one single-game grade below 60.0 on the season — and a 59.4 at that. Seumalo’s pass blocking from Week 11 on — protecting two very different quarterbacks in Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew — was nothing short of spectacular, earning a 90.4 mark with zero quarterback hits and pressure allowed on just 1.8% of pass-block snaps.
2. OG Ben Powers
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Powers took a meteoric leap as a pass protector in 2022, with his 86.5 pass-blocking grade the second-best mark among guards this season. Powers allowed zero sacks and just one quarterback hit the entire year, playing in front of three different quarterbacks over the second half of the campaign.
The 6-foot-4, 338-pound behemoth struggles a bit as a run blocker, but if he could do enough to get by in Baltimore, odds are he can hold up well enough elsewhere.
3. OG Dalton Risner
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Risner offered consistency along a Broncos offensive line that had anything but at every other position, logging almost 1,000 snaps before unfortunately missing the season finale with an elbow injury. Before going down, Risner earned his second consecutive pass-blocking grade above 70.0, with a 65.7 pass-blocking grade on true pass sets that ranked 22nd among guards.
It’s a great time for Risner to hit free agency, with a short list of quality interior offensive linemen available. Risner is right at the top of that list.
4. OG Nate Davis
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Davis earned a career-best 66.8 pass-blocking grade in the last season of his rookie contract, a huge jump from his previous high of 52.6. That was an important development to go along with his consistently solid run-blocking ability.
From 2020 to 2022, Davis’ 74.1 run-blocking grade ranks 14th among guards, routinely getting to the second level in the Tennessee Titans’ zone running scheme with good movement skills. If he can continue to improve in pass protection and round out his game, the former third-rounder could be a quality guard for the next several years.
5. C Ethan Pocic
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Pocic signed a one-year contract with the Browns after beginning his career with the Seattle Seahawks, faring much better under the tutelage of offensive line coaching savant Bill Callahan. Pocic’s 79.2 overall, 71.5 pass-blocking and 79.2 run-blocking grades in 2022 were all career highs, and it was great to see him able to return from a knee injury to close out the year.
Cleveland has two of the NFL’s highest-paid guards in Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller, and the team extended right tackle Jack Conklin shortly before the end of the season, so it seems Pocic will reach the open market, where he’ll be PFF's highest-rated available center by a decent margin.
6. C Connor McGovern
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
McGovern signed a three-year, $27 million deal with the New York Jets during his first go-around in free agency and will look to get as close to that number once again.
The veteran center has logged roughly 1,000 snaps in five straight seasons. His 74.7 grade over the past two years ranks 13th among centers, his 69.8 pass-blocking grade places 16th and his 76.9 run-blocking grade comes in at 13th. He offers a high floor as a solid zone run blocker and could be an asset to a team with a young quarterback.
7. OG Will Hernandez
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Hernandez earned a career-high 79.1 pass-blocking grade in 2022, which ranked tied for eighth among guards. His 3.0% pressure rate allowed ranked 13th at the position, and he held up on true pass sets, as well, ranking in the top 15 in both metrics. He’s a bit more limited as a run blocker, failing to reach a season-long grade of at least 65.0 over his five-year career, but his above-average pass protection should make him an intriguing target for a handful of clubs.
The five-year veteran spent time on injured reserve with a pectoral injury during the season but was able to return for the final month. He signed a minimum contract for 2022 but should be able to boost that a bit going forward.
8. C Garrett Bradbury
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
The former first-rounder earned career-high grades as a pass-blocker and run-blocker in 2022, with his 68.1 pass-block grade representing an improvement of nearly 15 grading points. His 72.4 run-blocking grade is his third straight mark of 67.0 or better.
Bradbury was drafted early because he has the athleticism to get to the second level in an outside-zone-heavy rushing attack, but he simply lacks the strength to anchor as a pass protector, especially with the league’s interior pass-rushers getting better and better. Nevertheless, it was good to see major growth in pass protection in 2022, but the odds are it will never be a strength of his game.
9. C Bradley Bozeman
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
10. C Coleman Shelton
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
11. OG Nate Herbig
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
12. OG David Edwards
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
13. OG Nick Gates
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
14. OG Andre Dillard
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
15. OG Connor McGovern
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
16. OG Justin Pugh
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.