2022 NFL draft: The top 11 interior offensive linemen

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar breaks down the 11 best interior offensive linemen in the 2022 NFL draft class.

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Since 2000, there have been 35 interior offensive linemen selected in the first round of any draft. And generally speaking, if you’re going to select a guard or a center in the first round, you’d better be pretty sure — the player had better be not only ding-proof, but he’d also better have some serious upside. Not only must he have near-total command at the position; he’d also better be able to clearly demonstrate the ability to take the unfinished parts of his game and take them to an NFL-acceptable level.

Of the 35 first-rounders among guards and centers since 2000, there’s one Hall of Famer (Steve Hutchinson, selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the 17th overall pick in 2000), a few now-retired players who could see themselves enshrined over time (Logan Mankins, Maurkice Pouncey, Nick Mangold), and current players who are now on a Canton track (Quenton Nelson, Zack Martin, Alex Mack).

The first-round guards and centers who don’t work out are generally the ones whose athletic traits are overcooked by evaluators at the expense of the nuances of the positions. At any position, you don’t want to talk yourself into the idea that you can take a “raw clay” player and turn him into something he never was in college. It’s a dangerous idea, especially when every position is harder to master at the NFL level.

In the 2022 class of interior offensive linemen, there are two or three I could see going in the first round, because they have the attributes you want at the position, and they’ve developed those attributes to the point where you can see it on tape over and over. Then, you can look at the things that don’t quite work yet and make your own calculations as to whether he fits what your head coach, offensive coordinator, and position coaches want to do schematically. The players further down the list may have more glaring weaknesses, or they’re less scheme-transcendent, but they’re still good enough to make their offensive lines better.

Depth at these positions is key, because guard and center aren’t positions where you’re going to overdraft guys a lot. So, you can get a Wyatt Teller or a Corey Linsley in the fifth round, a Shaq Mason in the fourth round, and you can get a David Andrews as a priority free agent.

The Miami Dolphins of the early 1970s had among the greatest offensive lines in pro football history, and only one player on those lines (right tackle Norm Evans) was drafted — by the Houston Oilers in the 14th round of the 1965 American Football League draft. But two guys from those lines (center Jim Langer and right guard Larry Little) are now in the Hall of Fame.

These are the positions where the names at the bottom of the list might wind up outperforming the names up top, so it’s crucial to scout it all the way down.

Here are our top 11 interior offensive linemen in the 2022 NFL draft.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated. All testing data comes from the 2022 scouting combine, with percentile per position, courtesy of MockDraftable.com). 

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Ravens add talent in trenches in latest 2022 two-round mock draft by The Draft Network

The Ravens added talented players in the trenches in a two-round mock draft by The Draft Network

The Baltimore Ravens currently have 10 selections in the 2022 draft. They pick at No. 14 overall in the first round, and have nine selections within the first four rounds. All of their draft capital should give the team plenty of opportunity to make multiple trades over the course of draft weekend if they choose to.

In the latest 2022 NFL two-round mock draft by The Draft Network, Brentley Weissman selected two talented big-bodied players to help Baltimore solidify their trenches. At No. 14, Weissman has the Ravens selecting defensive lineman Jordan Davis out of the University of Georgia, and discussed how his combine was spectacular and he could replace the potential losses of Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams.

“With the loss of free agents Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams, the Ravens have a massive hole along the inside of their defensive line. Who better to fill that massive hole than the massive Jordan Davis? Davis’ combine performance will go down as one of the best in recent memory and the fact that he showed he could move that well at the size will surely help ease concerns of him being a potential two-down-only player.”

In the second round, Weissman has Baltimore selecting offensive lineman Dylan Parham out of the University of Memphis. Parham played primarily at guard during his collegiate career, but many project him as a center at the NFL level despite the fact that he’s never played a snap there.

Jags send OL coach to Memphis to check out Dylan Parham

The Jags checked out one of the more interesting interior offensive lineman prospects, Dylan Parham, this week.

The 2022 NFL Scouting Combine is behind us, but that doesn’t mean teams won’t be able to checkout prospects in person as several pro days have and will be taking place in the coming weeks. That said, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ work on the 2022 NFL Draft is far from done as the team still needs a lot of help despite going on a spree in free agency.

While the team was able to land the top free agent guard in Brandon Scherff, they still could use the help of a high draft selection for the offensive line. That’s probably why they sent at least one of their offensive line coaches to Memphis’ pro day to check out Dylan Parham, according to Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy.

At 6-feet-3, 311 pounds, Parham is projected to be a third-round pick by most draft pundits. Many seem to be drawn to him due to his versatility (has played guard and tackle) and his foot quickness. He’s also pretty impressive from a technical standpoint, which is huge because he may struggle from a raw power standpoint in the NFL. 

As we’ve said on multiple occasions, Jags coach Doug Pederson likes big and athletic players, and Parham fits that description. Additionally, the Jags are in a situation where Brandon Linder is contemplating retirement, so a new guard or center could be needed to replace him.

For the reasons previously mentioned above, we slotted Parham to the Jags in our first Jags Wire mock of the offseason. And with him garnering interest from the team, it will be interesting to see if the Jags try and bring him in for a workout before the draft.

2022 Jags Wire mock: New league year edition

The first few days of free agency are over and we now have a clearer picture of who the Jags could target in April’s draft. Check out our first mock of the year as we made selections in Rounds 1-3.

The first few days of free agency have passed by, and though there are still some good players who could be signed off the market, it seems the Jacksonville Jaguars may be done with making any more big-time signings. That means they have mostly turned their focus to the draft, where the team has 12 picks.

While they were probably the most aggressive team in free agency this past week, they still have a lot of needs on the roster. On offense, that includes the need for more starters on the offensive line and additional skill weapons. Then on defense, the team’s pass-rush needs bolstering, and the interior linebacker position could use another addition after the team lost a team captain at the position.

We addressed some of those needs in our first-ever 2022 Jags Wire mock of this year. And while it only covered the first three rounds, we evenly distributed the picks to give both sides of the ball two new additions.

Here are the four prospects we ended up with using Pro Football Focus’ draft simulator:

7 takeaways from the top RB, OL performances at NFL Combine

Here are 7 takeaways from the top RB, OL performances at night 2 on the field at the #NFLCombine

On Thursday, the Eagles were able to get an up-close look at a talented group of wide receiver and tight end prospects for April’s upcoming draft.

On Friday the running backs and offensive linemen took the field in Indianapolis, with several big-named offensive linemen and dual-threat running backs greatly improving their stock.

The NFL Combine got off to a blazing start on Thursday night and Friday’s group from the offensive line was record-setting as well.

Here are seven takeaways from night two.

10 offensive line prospects for the Eagles to watch at the 2022 Senior Bowl

2022 #SeniorBowl: 10 offensive line prospects for the #Eagles to watch #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE

The 2022 NFL draft is fast approaching and with Philadelphia owning three first-round picks, Howie Roseman needing to hit on all three first-round picks, we’re getting an early start on evaluating the top prospects.

The draft actually starts in Mobile, Alabama, where the start of senior bowl practices will kick off on Tuesday, February 1.

We’re profiling the position groups for both senior bowl teams, while also breaking down several players at each group for Philadelphia to watch.

The next group to watch will be the senior bowl offensive linemen.