While the NFL media has been constantly talking this season about who will win MVP or Offensive Player of the Year, there has been one group of players who have been absent from all this awards buzz: offensive linemen.
Besides Pro Bowl appearances and All-Pro teams, the players who are always fighting in the trenches and doing all the dirty work don’t have any award to show for it. Buffalo Bills four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Dion Dawkins wants to change that.
“Offensive linemen don’t have an award for being great,” Dawkins told reporter Alex Brasky. “I’m knocking at so many doors now to get this award going. I’m gonna spearhead it and make sure it gets done before I’m done playing. Because there’s so many greats, and we have great quarterbacks, we have great running backs, we have rushing titles, we have quarterback passing titles. All those titles are reflections on the o-linemen, which are the protectors.”
Dawkins is right. At this year’s NFL Honors, tons of quarterbacks and skill position players will go up on stage to accept awards, but the linemen who put them in those positions will just be applauding from their seats.
So that had us here at Yardbarker thinking… if the NFL gave out this “Protector of the Year” Award, who would win it? Here are our top five picks:
5. Frank Ragnow, center, Detroit Lions
One of the reasons Detroit built the best offense in the league this season was due to their center Frank Ragnow. The seven-year veteran was calling out the protections for the best offense in the league this year. Finishing with the third-highest run-blocking rate, according to PFF, Ragnow was the cornerstone of the offense that led Detroit to a 15-2 record this year.
4.Joe Thuney, left guard, Kansas City Chiefs
The former Patriot has been a mainstay on the offensive line of the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. He led the NFL in pass block win rate among interior linemen at 98%, per ESPN Analytics Index, and didn’t allow a single sack the entire season. His performance at guard has been so impressive, that the Chiefs started him at left tackle this entire postseason after an injury to starter D.J. Humphries.
3. Tristan Wirfs, left tackle, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wirfs has had an incredible start to his young career. In his first five seasons, he has been named to three All-Pro teams, including a first-team nod this year. Wirfs allowed a pressure rate of just 4.7% this year, per PFF, good for second-best in the entire league, and gave up just one quarterback hit all year, protecting Baker Mayfield during the QB’s career year. Wirfs was the best player on a Buccaneers offense that was the only team in the league to finish top-five in both passing and rushing yards.
2. Penei Sewell, right tackle, Detroit Lions
The Lions do-everything right tackle was one of the best offensive linemen in the league this year. He had the most run-block snaps played and had the second-highest run-block grade, per PFF, all while being named to his second All-Pro First-Team. At just 24 years old, Sewell looks like he will dominate the league for years to come. He’s also the only offensive lineman who can do this:
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