The most difficult position group to scout in football is the offensive line. For one, most of us turn our eyes away the moment the ball is snapped, focusing instead on the more exciting action at the skill positions.
More importantly, there are no stats.
Cornerbacks have interceptions. Quarterbacks have touchdowns. Linebackers have tackles. But linemen … pancake blocks?
Unless you know exactly what you’re looking for — and sometimes, the only people qualified enough to do that are the coaches and quarterbacks who called the pass protections — it can be extremely difficult to decipher just how well a linemen is performing.
Unless, of course, you’re watching Michael Schofield or Donald Stephenson get smoked for three or four sacks in one game. In that case, yeah, they’re clearly failing.
Pro Football Focus, though, who spends hours scouting and grading every single play from the NFL season has helped many of us gain a better understanding of line play through their grading system. And now, they’ve developed a new O-Line metric that assesses the performance of the line as a whole.
Through 10 weeks, they have the Broncos graded out as the 25th best offensive line in the NFL:
“The Denver Broncos line is actually okay, outside of one prohibitive position that threatens to sink the whole ship. At right tackle, Donald Stephenson and Ty Sambrailo alternate getting eviscerated by opposing pass-rushers, sometimes both within the same game. As a pair, they have surrendered six sacks and 46 total QB pressures on the season, which would be the most in the league if they were one right tackle. Russell Okung has been better, but he himself is responsible for 38 total QB pressures, second-most among left tackles in the league.”
Broncos Fans might disagree with the idea that the offensive line “is actually okay,” but then again, it’s hard to know how the unit would look if we had a competent option at right tackle.
PFF actually has Matt Paradis graded out as the best center in all of football.
Unfortunately, whether it’s Stephenson or Sambrailo, Denver really doesn’t have a better option. If they’re going to keep winning, they’re going to have to keep winning despite their right tackle.
