Tag: nfl’s best guards

The NFL’s 12 best interior offensive linemen

From Wyatt Teller to Jason Kelce, here are the 12 best interior offensive linemen in the NFL today.

Of all the players who factor heavily into a football team’s success, guards and centers are often the most overlooked. Unless you’re working with advanced metrics, there are no statistics to speak of, and unless you have access to overhead and (especially) end zone footage, it’s hard to discern what these guys are doing that is so important.

But those in the know, know better. Centers control the entire offense — they make protection calls, they align with their quarterbacks both intellectually and literally on every snap, and they have to take the brunt of the opponent’s decisions to point one or more large angry men in their exact directions.

Guards are often the athletes of their offensive lines as much as tackles are — it’s just a different kind of athleticism. Whether on the left or right side, these big guys had better be able to execute inside and outside zone, man-based snaps in which it’s mano a mano, and all kinds of combinations in which it’s important to coordinate with others.

So, in the spirit of giving these fine gentlemen more play in the court of public opinion. we continue our position lists for the 2023 season with the 12 best interior offensive linemen in the NFL today.

In a recent version of “The Xs and Os” with Greg Cosell, Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug Farrar (of Touchdown Wire) got into the attributes for guards and centers at the elite level.

Centers:

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Guards:

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In addition to this list, you can read all of our position rankings for the 2023 NFL season, on the way to our late August list of the 101 best players in the league today.

The NFL’s top 11 offensive tackles
The NFL’s top 11 interior defensive linemen
The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders
The NFL’s top 11 linebackers
The NFL’s top 11 slot defenders
The NFL’s top 11 cornerbacks
The NFL’s top 11 safeties

And now, the 12 best interior offensive linemen in the NFL today.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

The NFL’s top 11 offensive guards

The NFL has changed, and that has made offensive guards more important than ever. Quenton Nelson and Zack Martin remain among the best.

Once upon a time, offensive guards were the forgotten men in the interior. Tackles drew the attention of the masses, as they were often tasked with handling the most imposing pass rushers on the other side of the football. Centers were known for what they offered in terms of being another coach on the field, calling out protections and helping the quarterback.

Guards? They were often described as pavers. Road graders. The guys who helped with the running game.

But times sure have changed. As more defenses kick pass rushers inside on passing downs, or have elite players such as Aaron Donald who can destroy worlds from the interior, the days of the road grader are gone. Now guards need to do it all, and do it well, otherwise offenses will struggle.

Here are the NFL’s top 11 offensive guards, all of whom do it all very well indeed.