• Best overall: Houston’s Laremy Tunsil led the way with an elite 91.7 pass-blocking grade after surrendering just one sack, three hits and 13 hurries across 639 pass-blocking snaps last season.
• Best on third and fourth down: Tunsil was the only tackle in the league who earned a 90.0-plus PFF grade on third and fourth downs, as he allowed just seven pressures on 197 pass-blocking snaps.
• Best against the blitz: Green Bay’s David Bakhtiari led the pack, as he allowed just one pressure and no sacks on 100 pass-blocking snaps against the blitz.
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
A week ago, we looked at last season's highest-graded edge rushers in different situations. This week, we'll venture over to the other side of the ball to examine the offensive tackle play in those same situations, including third and fourth downs, third-and-long plays, plays in the fourth quarter and more.
Overall pass-blocking grade
- Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans: 91.7
- Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 90.5
- Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles: 89.8
- Andrew Thomas, New York Giants: 88.8
- David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers: 87.8
We start with the overall pass-blocking grade without applying any context.
Houston’s Laremy Tunsil led the way with an elite 91.7 pass-blocking grade after surrendering just one sack, three hits and 13 hurries across 639 pass-blocking snaps last season.
Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs earned the highest pass-blocking grade among right tackles at 90.5, with the Bucs star giving up just two sacks, one hit and two hurries from 587 snaps.
Pass-blocking grade on third and fourth downs
- Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans: 90.0
- Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 88.6
- Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles: 87.6
- Andrew Thomas, New York Giants: 87.4
- Christian Darrisaw, Minnesota Vikings: 86.8
Tunsil was the only tackle in the league who earned a 90.0-plus PFF grade on third and fourth downs, as he allowed just seven pressures on 197 pass-blocking snaps. Wirfs comes in second at 88.6, as he allowed only two total pressures (both sacks) on 159 plays.
Pass blocking grade on third-and-long plays
- Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans: 92.3
- Christian Darrisaw, Minnesota Vikings: 92.1
- Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles: 88.6
- Ty Nsekhe, Los Angeles Rams: 87.0
- David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers: 86.6
Looking at third-and-long situations where the offense had to gain six or more yards to earn a first down paints a slightly different picture.
Tunsil once again stood out in these obvious passing situations. While he led the league with 114 such plays, he did not allow a single sack or quarterback hit on these snaps.
Minnesota’s Christian Darrisaw ranks second in this situation, as he also did not allow a sack or quarterback hit on third-and-long plays, although he was on the field for 35 fewer plays than Tunsil.
Pass-blocking grade in the fourth quarter
- Jake Matthews, Atlanta Falcons– 88.9
- Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 87.4
- D.J. Humphries, Arizona Cardinals: 85.9
- Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans: 85.1
- David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers: 83.6
While Jake Matthews (126 snaps) and D.J. Humphries (127) didn't play many fourth-quarter pass-blocking snaps, they were very efficient on these plays. Matthews allowed just two pressures in the fourth quarter last season, while Humphries was credited with giving up four pressures but no sacks.
Pass-blocking grade against the blitz
- David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers: 91.7
- Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans: 89.5
- Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 88.8
- Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles: 85.2
- Kolton Miller, Las Vegas Raiders: 82.9
Green Bay’s David Bakhtiari led the pack, as he allowed just one pressure and no sacks on 100 pass-blocking snaps against the blitz. Wirfs led right tackles again with an 88.8 grade, as he also allowed just one pressure against the blitz.
Pass-blocking grade against stunts
- Kolton Miller, Las Vegas Raiders: 84.2
- Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 83.8
- Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles: 83.3
- Christian Darrisaw, Minnesota Vikings: 82.5
- Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans: 82.2
Similarly to facing a blitz, facing a stunt by the defense also requires communication and post-snap adjustments by the offensive line. Raiders left tackle Kolton Miller jumps to the top of the list in these situations, as he did not allow a single sack on 174 plays. Wirfs and Philadelphia’s Lane Johnson follow him closely, as the two right tackles allowed just two pressures each on these plays.
Pass-blocking grade on play-action plays
- Cam Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars: 90.7
- Braxton Jones, Chicago Bears: 90.4
- Dan Moore Jr., Pittsburgh Steelers: 90.1
- Ikem Ekwonu, Carolina Panthers: 88.6
- Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers: 88.2
Play-action concepts are generally favorable for offensive tackles, as the play fake often slows down the pass rush.
Jacksonville’s Cam Robinson did not allow a single sack or quarterback hit while giving up just one hurry on 133 plays with play action. Similarly, rookie Braxton Jones did not allow a single sack or hit but did surrender four hurries on these plays.
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