NFL Daily 32: Ranking the Best Offensive Lines

22:53Ollie Connolly:I just think that the talent of the unit as a collective is way better than just the individual pieces. Yeah, I had them sixth overall, and I don't think it's a question about who's the right tackle. I think it's Jalen Travis, which normally, you know, he's a later pick that got to play last year when Braden Smith was out. Normally you'd be concerned about that, but they've been so good developing these guys, and when they replaced their interior guys last year, as you mentioned, and they were so good, I kind of just trust their development plan. And by all accounts, I think they were impressed with how he looked last year.

23:26And so, yeah, it's a good pick. Are you – this is the spot I'm going to give you a chance to talk about, pass block win rate, because they – I went and checked that. They were 27th according to pass block win rate as a team. Now, that includes, you know, the tight ends and the running backs and stuff too, so it's a little confusing. Give me your thoughts on pass block win rate. And why would the courts, I was really stunned to see that, have ranked that low last year because it just didn't feel that way, certainly.

23:55Ollie Connolly:No, it didn't match it with my test either. I will use those metrics as a guide to go and then choose how to watch the film. If there's someone who is massively outperforming on an individual basis, how they're doing. The team ones, you really have to filter down for every single subcategory of what you're looking for in the win rate, whether it's a quick timing three-step drop scramble drill everything across the board is it max protects it six-man protection what was the defensive look by the time you filter it down you're getting to such a small sample size I'm not quite sure you're able to get out of it I think the true pass set stuff for individual tackles is quite instructive I think tracks really well with the film when you strip away the RPOs and the play action and any double help they're getting and you just isolate to who are the best one-on-one tackle plays in league I think that's pretty useful the pass rush rim rate stuff as a collective doesn't interest me as much as free runners if i can go and get the the unblock rushes list and most sites now will at least allow you to put it through is it the a gap or b gap those are the only free rushes that i really care about it is alarming to me if there's a team i think is a good unit because the individual pieces are good but you can tell through the cohesiveness of the of the unit if they've spiked really high in the the unblocked pressure world yeah and there's so many different ways that you can measure the quick pressures are definitely great because you know pressure rate overall matches up so closely with just time to throw the team and the teams the teams that throw the ball quickly don't face as much pressure that that's more about the system this is a spot here at seven where it really gets funky and where i'm going off my own board for the first time because i want to hurt ollie that's just who i am and i'm going to take the lions here at seven and not waste any more time why not because It just is fun.

25:38I want Panay Sewell on my side. We're going to be lining these up on the graphics. And I get Panay Sewell over on the left side. I get Blake Miller, the rookie here on the right side, Cade Mays. We just talked about him on an underrated players episode. I think fits what they want to do. Tate Ratledge, I think, played better in the second half of last season. And then at the other guard spot, you got Christian Mahogany. And so you're counting on the development plan. Hank Fraley is one of the better offensive line coaches in the league. So that is a big part of my decision here. Their oldest player in their two deep offensive line.

26:14Can you guess it, Ali, off the top of your head? Like I'm talking about backups to starters and backups. Larry Borum. Is he there? He is there. And yet I still think it's Cade Mays who's 27 years old. That is how young they are. They're another team that as a team was horrible in terms of past black win rate. It was like right at the bottom of the league. but I'm betting on the potential of this group and it just feels more fun to have them. So I'm vaulting them over at least one team I had ahead of them.

26:42Ollie Connolly:It's a really good pick. These things fluctuate massively year to year. I was way lower on them in my rankings than where you've taken them here. I do have some concerns about Penny Sewell moving right tackle to left tackle just for 2026. How does it look immediately? Tristan Wurst had four weeks where he struggled. Is it four weeks, no weeks, eight weeks for Penny Sewell? Then you've got to figure out what's happening on the right side. And I do care about the depth too. I think the depth behind particularly Mahogany and Ratledge is really, really weak. The average number of combinations of O-lines for every team in the league last season was nine.

27:16Ollie Connolly:So you're going to have to roll guys in and out. And I just think it drops off so dramatically. The starting five is exciting. If someone goes down in camp, then we start getting to the situation where we've got two weak links and they're stood next to each other. So you're saying I overthought it, like tried to anticipate what you were doing too much and it's going to turn into a Dolphins trading ahead of the Patriots for a Savanea situation. It's like, you didn't need to do that. You're up with number eight. I'm going to take the Bucs. I understand. That was my pick. So now I'm really annoyed because I just thought the Bucs would slide.

27:49Ollie Connolly:I understand it was not great last season. I don't love the offensive infrastructure there to maximize those guys this season compared to years past. But I just can't move away from 2024 on what they were able to get to as a collective when Liam Cohn was there. I can't move away from the fact that I think that as a five-man grouping is the best all five can pull threat in the league. Now, I don't think Zach Robinson's going to be a pull or move guys in space type coach. I hope that he is because Wirfs and Gadecki are the best two in the league at being able to move and pull out in space as a two-man tandem.

28:20Ollie Connolly:You've got Cody Mark, Graham Barton, I think had such a down year last year. I'd be pretty surprised if it was such a struggle moving through this season. So they are not perfect, but they at least have veteran savvy. They have a weaponization that most of the groups don't do. And if it's a team that's going to vault back up into being just universally considered a top eight group by the end of the year, I would bet it's them. Yeah, I had them fifth overall. I don't know why I did this. The argument against them would be couldn't run block last year. I know they had injuries, but they couldn't run the ball very well.

28:52So losing Cohen seemed to really be an issue. Obviously, he didn't have worse, like 100 % healthy the whole time. and that's going to make a huge difference. Maybe the best left tackle in the game. And then Kevin Carberry, as your offensive line coach slash run game coordinator, you know, wasn't a great first year for him. So that would be the case against him. But yeah, like I said, I am fifth overall.

29:14Ollie Connolly:This is more of a natural alignment for Carberry with Zach Robertson though, but that is part of my concern is they're just going to be so wide zoning, kick and go base. I just don't think the group is at their best doing that. I think when it's more vertical, when it's more movement in the offense, I think Liam Cohen showed us that that's where these guys can maximize their skills. So I hope Robinson is willing to adopt some of that stuff. This is, I could say this every time now. Look, every year, I doubt the 49ers. This might be a reach. Every year, I just think it doesn't look good on paper.

29:49And then in the end, when you look at the numbers, when you look at offensive production, the 49ers are there. And then, you know, if you're into, like, the pass block win rate, like, they always end up fine on those. Like, PFF had them ranked fifth overall as a group last year. They're bringing the same group back. They've had the same offensive line coach. Chris Forster has done a good job with Kyle Shanahan. And you look at the top five here. Trent Williams, not at his peak. Colton McKivitts has really improved on the right side from kind of a minus, I think, to a plus, certainly, in the run game.

30:22You have Connor Colby probably as their left guard. Jake Brendel, Dominic Pune, who's flashed a lot at right guard, certainly as a rookie. Then you drafted a couple more guys in the fourth and fifth round for some depth. And I'm just trusting the process here. It always ends up looking better than the names. And then in the end, they get it done. And I'm about production. I'm about winning, Ali. So I will not take that sneer that you gave me when I drafted the 49ers.

30:49Ollie Connolly:There is no sneer. I do think that they were able to get away with some stuff last season. But they always get away with it. They do. They have one of the greatest offensive minds coaching right now. He's able to scheme his way around it. I'm a little bit worried about some Trent Williams slippage. I know that that's blasphemous, but there was some pretty gnarly losses last season. Just the down-to-down consistency was not the same. He can still do stuff that no one else can do on the left side. I thought McKivitts was excellent last season. I think Dominic Pune can become one of the best right guards in the league over a decade.

31:19Ollie Connolly:So they do have the names now. It's not like they're just nameless players, but I still, I just go back and forth with them on their general approach to this stuff. And Shanahan's one of the best and Forster's unbelievable at what he does. But having such a limited protection menu really means Williams has to be one of the three best left tackles in the game. And I'm willing to bet that for as long as he wants to play the sport, but he is the oldest tackle in the league for the, what it's going to be the third year running. And there was signs of some decline last season. Yeah, was he the top three tackle last year on balance?

31:52Close, probably top five, top six. There were moments. There were definitely games. I just watched one of them, Jalex Hunt. I was doing some Jalex Hunt film in the playoff game. Did a really good job against Trent Williams. So there were moments, especially early in the season, and then he kind of got it going. Let's finish out the top 10 here, Ali.

32:12Ollie Connolly:I'm going to take the Chicago Bears. this is talent for talent maybe not the best overall line but when you start putting them in combination together and you put them in that scheme where they get way more protection than anyone else they lead the league by far in max protection they have the tightest splits of anyone in the league consistently um i just i think that they will be once again though the talent has slightly dropped off of drew dolman retiring and the questions at left tackle i still think two knees at the peak of his powers i think the jonah jackson darnell right combination is as good as it gets in the league right now particularly in what they're asked to do it's the best combo blocking duo tandem that there is in the league right now i don't see any reason why that would not still be the mainstay of the offense and they're able to hide these guys still in pass pro yeah you know i had them really high at first like five or six partly off you know their their standouts and if you care about the pass block win rate if you care about the pff rankings they were third last year and like you said they're not returning everyone but the the replacements they made Garrett Bradbury and Logan Jones as a second round pick replacing Dolman it's like okay that that at least makes sense to me Jonah Jackson worries me a little bit because you're right that combination was outstanding but he's had a really up and down career he's had injuries even when he's played like he's been all pro he's been benched and so that that's a little bit of a concern for me and then yeah Braxton Jones over on the left side but then you think about it's like They ran blocks so well last year and they gave up 13 sacks.

33:45Maybe we overthought it. I could be regretting letting them fall to 10.

33:50Ollie Connolly:No, I think that they're valid concerns. And to have the time to pressure they had last year, coupled with how long Caleb holds the ball, it could just be a year where it spins out of control and they're not able to quite hold up and sustain the way they were last season. And Dolman was so outstanding for them and corrected a lot of mistakes that they would have, particularly inside. Tooney's incredible, but he does allow guys to cross his face. He does expect his center's going to go pick it up for him. He played with Creed Humphrey for so long. He's like, well, Creed will solve that for me. And they put that on the plate of Drew Dahlman last year, who was able to survive it.

34:21Ollie Connolly:I don't think Garrett Bradbury is at that level, though he had probably his best year of his career last season. We'll get to the Chiefs, maybe soon. But you do wonder about that Tooney trade. Did they pick the right guy? Could they have traded away Trey Smith, gotten some stuff and just kept Tooney? I know that might have been a little more short-term thinking, but I don't know if it was the right choice. Let's take a break. I have, I'm, I don't know if it's going to be a stunning pick. I'm curious what you think, but I'm planting my flag with our next pick as a big improving team.

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38:15Ollie Connolly:Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tremphaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremfireRadio.com. Back on NFL Daily, Ollie's playing mind games, telling me now he thinks my pick is going to make him all freak out. And yes, I'm going for one of the offensive lines that's talked about the most in the entire NFL. It's the Los Angeles Chargers. Was that it? Was that who you were worried about? It was not it. We're cheering in the draft room. We're going crazy. I don't care. Rashawn Slater and Joel are your tackles. Mike McDaniel is involved. And I know the offensive lines were a little up and down in Miami.

39:01Very up and down in Miami. But you look at the players. Tyler Biotish has been a really solid center over the years. Cole Strange is at least getting the McDaniel stamp of approval there at right guard. And then at left guard, they're probably converting. their high pick Jake Slaughter to guard. And one thing that helped put it over the top, not just McDaniel, but they drafted an offensive lineman in the fourth, a couple more in the sixth. I actually feel like they have some depth of guys that have been there before, like Trey Pipkins is still there, some other players. And I think if you're picking a team for 2026, Jim Harbaugh, Mike McDaniel, these two tackles, I don't think it's crazy to go Chargers right now.

39:46Ollie Connolly:I don't think it's crazy at all. I had them as 10th on my board. So I think it's in the right range. And I really like Butch Barry, the offensive line coach. He kind of is the guy who, Mike McDaniel goes away, does what he does, brings in all the mad genius ideas. And Butch Barry is like, let's put the concoction into practice. How can we actually fundamentally make this work? So bringing him over, I think, makes a bunch of sense. Biatich, to me, was an all-pro caliber player in 2024. I thought he was outstanding for the commanders when they were doing a lot more of the cool, creative movement stuff from the center spot.

40:15Ollie Connolly:so I get why they've plugged him in there the big concerns for me are Slaughter at guard and Strange right guard Slaughter to me was a center only prospect in the draft and he got by on his smarts and his intellect was the standout hallmarks of his game that he would be able to come in and quickly diagnose all this nonsense happening on the defensive side of the ball if he was plugged at center I get Biatis is just a better player way more proven player so I get why you would compromise that and put Biatis at center but I don't think Slaughter is athletically gifted enough to be able to play guard full-time in the league.

40:45Ollie Connolly:So those two major weak link spots, when you've also got the two tackles coming back from the injury, is kind of the reason why I didn't push them into the top four, top five range. Yeah, that slaughter pick was a little strange. Obviously, you take Biotis when he just becomes available at a reasonable rate and worry about it later. But then it's just weird that they took what looked like a center-only prospect that high in the draft. We actually have a clip here from Charlie Kohler, who I'm considering, you know, the sixth offensive lineman here, the blocking tight end that they signed from the Chargers earlier this week.

41:19I think it was over the weekend. And I just knew this would get all these juices flowing.

41:25Ollie Connolly:Something like so beautiful about you're up by six points. It's like third and three. You know you're running it. There's two minutes left in the game. They have no timeouts. You do the first time the game's over. You know you're running it. They know you're running it. Your wife knows you're running it. Their wife knows they're running it. You still run it. It's like, that is more satisfying than any touchdown I've ever had. Oh, man. You know that Kolar made that speech as they were, you know, wooing him as a free agent and Harbaugh was like, give him all the money, more guaranteed money for Charlie Kolar.

42:01That's my number 11 overall pick. What a value. I'm feeling great about it.

42:05Ollie Connolly:That's the greatest club I've ever had in my life. All right. What is the team that you thought I was maybe going to take? You didn't want to get taken away. Okay, this is where I've officially lost my mind. We're deep in the offseason. I just got a puppy. This is going to invalidate all my credibility doing the show with you, but I'm taking the New York Jets. And I know it's absurd, and I don't care, because I want to come out of this draft with Olu Fashanu, Arman Membu, Josh Meis, and Joe Tippmann. And we can figure out what happens at left guard, whether it's Dylan Palm. I do think that is when you run through the entire list and you're looking at weak spots along a five-man group, that's nowhere near the most fatal flaw for all these units in the league i think membu is so special i think him and fashani together is probably the best young tackle duo in the league and titman has improved tremendously since they moved him from center to guard and you at least have a veteran center there to be able to point things out id things call the run game for you be able to sort out what's happening to uh allow those young tackles just play on an island and play in space in a way a lot of the teams we go through are compromised athletically where they can't get to the kind of stuff the Jets can do I think in pass pro my major concerns would be they had the worst unblock pressure rate in the league last year that doesn't speak great to the cohesiveness in the where we're in the sport right now the offensive line coach has been a tight ends coach for his entire career effectively and the one year he was allowed to run an offensive line they had the highest unblock rate in the league because I don't think they knew what was happening they couldn't pass anything off but they're so young that you do see these huge sudden spikes in offensive line groups where they just dramatically improve and I would just want to bet on the Membu and the Fashanu tandem.

43:39I love that, especially as someone who just keeps loving to remind Patriots fans that they should have taken Membu over Will Campbell. I also had them quite high initially. It was like I just would write down the players and have it then. And then I kept moving them down a little further, not that that much further. But once I thought about the coach and Frank Reich, like, will they, will they take advantage of the pieces that are there? Or is it going to be insert 2027 coach to fully maximize this group? But I think for just total talent, you got good value.

44:16Ollie Connolly:The metrics might be pretty rough at times, but I imagine if you surveyed every offensive line coach in the league and said, you lost your job tomorrow, you have to take one the next day. I bet they would be in the top three or four because guys would want to go work with that tackle tandem. Okay, I'm going to go Chiefs next. It's still the Chiefs. I know we're a little unsure about Josh Simmons as a risk because, look, he was away from the team last year. That was mysterious. When he was out there for a rookie left tackle, really promising. You moved Sua Matea, who looked like a bust, to guard.

44:51It seems like they might be able to develop him into a useful, solid player. You have the best center, I believe, in the league in Creed Humphrey. You have someone that's been there a long time in Trey Smith. Even if you thought he was overpaid, you're happy about him at right guard. And then Jalen Moore at right tackle. If you're picking the weak spot, you could go with left guard or right tackle there. I mentioned the whole idea of did they choose the right guy, Trey Smith, over Tooney. But in the end, I'm betting on Andy Reid overall and the scheme to get this group to pay to play creditable football with a relatively high ceiling if Simmons takes it to the next level.

45:33Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I think Smith needs to just play much better. He has some of the best impact blocks and he flashes. I think if you just like watching Sunday night football because of the screen game, he gets these massive collisions and it's all really exciting. His consistency is just so poor down to down compared to what it was even a few years ago. so with jaylen moore playing on the right side which i think is a real question mark he's just gonna have to play at such a higher level and i do i think the name brand value of him has started to far outstrip who the player is and if they can get back to who he was a couple of seasons ago it will kind of make everything feel all right i i hear that and yet you know jaylen moore is replacing juan taylor it's fine i'm not i'm not worried i i i love jaylen moore i recruited him uh to western michigan so i got skin in the game hoping that he's good i would like it if he was in a picture with mahomes holding a super ball be great for the office but uh he doesn't look even like a fringe starting caliber player right now so i i hope he's good but it's it's a big do you keep in touch do you keep in touch do you think he knows who ollie connelly is probably not no unless he's an nfl daily listener which is plausible maybe he's an nfl daily listener maybe he's a talk sport guy.

46:42Ollie did some games last year. Yeah, go check out Ollie's sub stack and podcast as well. Of course, Jalen, if you're out there. All right, you're up next. Number 14 overall.

46:53Ollie Connolly:I'm going to take the Giants. I like the fact they get one of the best left tackles in the league. In Jelena Lumino, you get the bastion of consistency. I think John Michael Schmitz has become a solid to plus starting center. In John Runyon at left guard, you at least get some veteran stability, though it's massively of the downswing. And in Francis Maui Noah, I think you can get an impactful guard right away, at least in the run game, who could maybe just hold his own impasse pro as a rookie. You keep taking the next team on my list. So maybe these weren't as unpredictable and crazy as I thought.

47:26The Steelers pick was the only one to me that I thought it was inspired, but it was different than my list because the talent here is awesome. To me, it's just the fact that if you haven't seen them all together, You haven't seen Maui Noah at this level, but man, you feel great about the tackles. I think they were playing before Andrew Thomas got hurt two years ago. The best that I've seen the Giants offensive line look for a while. And then last year when they were healthy, I think they were a solid offensive line. The coach here is Mike Blumgren. He was with Bill Callahan and was the Browns offensive line coach last year over there where it didn't go too well.

48:04So I don't know if that was Harbaugh's first choice or what. I don't know if you have thoughts on the Bloomgren era, but just the uncertainty of that was a little factoring into not being any higher. But I had him right here.

48:14Ollie Connolly:He was the longtime O-line coach and kind of game plan builder at Stanford for the longest time when Stanford was just throwing out pro guys into the league. Then he was the Rice head coach, did the same thing, would not kind of run the team, would just go in and set the protection plans. And I do think they had some of the most diabolical protection work as a group, schematically, of any team in the league last year. I thought it was almost unforgivable at times, the way they were setting up versus what they were seeing because Dayball was so obsessive about getting to the passing game. They would just kind of forgo a lot of the work they could have done in protection.

48:45Ollie Connolly:So anything on that to me as a kind of a game plan situation will be an improvement. Okay, this is where it gets crazy. If I was doing tiers, this is actually about where it's like, I don't know. Like I could go with a million teams here and feel fine about it. You can make the case. I'm going upside here. I'm taking the Panthers at 15th overall. They did not play to that level a year ago. At left tackle, it's a battle between Rasheed Walker, who's played a lot in the NFL. Some injury concerns, I think, is why he didn't get a contract. And Munro Freeling, who I believe was your top overall tackle as a prospect.

49:22Okay, so that's not a bad spot. And then you got Damian Lewis, Mahler in the run game. A little bit concerning at center. You bring over Fortner from New Orleans, who played good as a backup last year. And then you draft Hecht in the later rounds with some people like him. Robert Hunt is a big contract player. And Taylor Moten over at right tackle. Overall, their running game, like they're built to run the ball, and they did not run the ball well last year. And that really worries me. And you got an offensive line coach, Joe Gilbert, who came with Dave Canales. We've seen it in the past. I was definitely disappointed about how they played overall last year.

50:00But I think I think talent and upside. I like the Panthers here.

50:04Ollie Connolly:The talent is really strong. I do think Freeling it's going to if he's thrown out there as a left tackle early in the season, it could be a little bit rough. I think he is a more of a long term developmental upside play. I worry about Luke Faulkner's fit in what that interior is supposed to be, which, as you mentioned, is like it's these kind of double combinations and we drive everyone off the ball. I thought Kate Mays was way better suited for that. This speaks to me. They're going to be a bit more of a spread offense, which then means we're going to have to play with our tackles one-on-one in pass pro and then it's going to be rasheed uh walker and taylor moton taylor moton's a really fine player i don't want him on an island 35 40 times in a game so i just worry about what the offensive plan is compared to the talent they actually have on the roster that if if you don't have a cohesive plan and they're changing things and it doesn't match up with how they've been drafting like that's a major problem in year three this is this is go time for these Panthers.

50:55So this is a bit of a prove me right pick for the Panthers. Who do you got at 16?

51:00Ollie Connolly:I'm taking the Saints. I think this is tremendous value. I love the Jets to young tackles as maybe the best you can do in the league. I don't think Kelvin Banks and Talese Foagra are that far behind it. Foagra is so much better on the natural side on the right side. Banks, I thought there was really rough moments last season, but all young tackles have rough moments i think the high end upside with him is is pretty special and i love adding david edwards uh at left guard to bring a real vet from presence to the room um someone who actually knows what's going on the big pivot thing is always with them is eric mccoy who when healthy is in the top tier of centers in the league and just never is able to stay healthy for an entire season and then the kind of elephant in the room would be cesar roiz who i think might be the worst starting player in all of pro football so as weak spots go that's about as weak as you can find Yeah, I had them high too because I think if you told me every team is getting 17 starts out of their five starters, this exercise would look most different for them.

52:00Then I think I would have them in the top 10 because yeah, people slept on that Banks rookie year. They should be really excited. That looks like a great pick. McCoy's never healthy though. Like why would anyone expect him to be healthy? And so far, for the most part, Fuaga hasn't really been healthy. and so as I went along I kept knocking them down a couple spots this isn't far from where they were but I just assumed like all right center over with Ruiz and Fuaga's hurt a lot the ceiling is high though if you can get McCoy and Fuaga healthy then then you're cooking I think the floor is higher

52:33Ollie Connolly:too even if as we expect Eric McCoy will miss some time they really didn't get ripped apart as a unit last season in the way those teams traditionally do where it looks like the charge is where they're just losing everything. No one can pick any kind of stunt or game up. They just lost one-on-one and they were playing with two really young guys. And one of them is a rookie and one is moving position after having to play on the left side for one season. So I just think they'll naturally win more of those one-on-one battles. And it really comes down to who is the backup center? Can Ruiz hang in and survive?

53:02Ollie Connolly:Will they have to replace Ruiz at some point? And that to me, based on some of the other groups we've got coming up, there's just, that is a higher floor than I see with other units. And the upside I think is really high. I just love we're going this deep, middle of May. We're at like 45 minutes here. We're only halfway through. This is read optional style. I mentioned Ali's podcast before. Everyone checked that out. But I love it. It's for the sickos. Generally, we're going to drop these as the last show of the week and just have like a nice hearty meal to last for the whole weekend. With schedule release, we changed the schedule up a little bit this week.

53:38And if we're going to go this long and get this nitty gritty, I'm just going to take the teams that I believe in and project a little more. The Ravens offensive line hasn't been what you want for Lamar Jackson lately. And yet, I think the ceiling for this group is pretty good. I think it's a little underrated what they did at guard this offseason. Getting Wenga, Juane, and John Simpson combo. Simpson's coming back from the Jets. I know he's not an all pro, but you just feel good about what he is going to give you, what he's given you in the past. That is one of the best position group upgrades in the entire NFL this year from one of the worst guard combinations to one you're really excited about.

54:17You have Ronnie Stanley at left tackle whose best football might be behind him because of injuries. And so the ceiling's a little lower. Like he just hasn't been quite the same. Roger Rosen Gardens developed into a solid right tackle. And then I like the offensive line coach. They get Dwayne Ledford over from Atlanta, who's done pretty good work. It's a big, confusing, like, empty spot at center. Danny Pinter from the Colts is their center, and that keeps them from being a little higher, and maybe the tackles are just okay instead of great. And yet I have a feeling DaCosta will find another center option.

54:55And overall, with the guard improvement and the coaching, I think it's going to be an improved unit.

55:01Ollie Connolly:even if they don't find another center option you can go and look at Dwayne Ledford's track record of he just finds undrafted guys all the time and they become plus starters not just passable players uh under Ledford he did an unbelievable job for the Falcons last year he's working for a unit where it is an all-world talent all across the board his offensive coordinator is tipping plays every single time based on formation and they're able to even be passable and serviceable against the style of defenses they were seeing and this is just a better collection of overall talent there is a massive lindemann shaped hole i think he was overpaid in francy but it's undeniable the drop off from him to the next tier of just centers in general in the league and what you're able to get to in the run game but they might be a little bit more slimmed down the run game and then it's just can they hang in one-on-one pass pro and i think the two tackle spots the two guard spots i don't think there's much question about that all right i feel good about that pick uh we are over halfway through here you're up with 18 i will take the dallas cowboys okay i like having an offensive coordinator who's really an o-line guy at heart i like the o-line coach connor riley who won a thousand uh national titles as north to go to state's offensive line coach and they are a team who is a all five can pull configuration tyler book is a little bit more limited but was really impressive as a rookie and he lets them get to stuff the other teams aren't able to just because the displacement he can create the first level allows everyone to kind of orbit around him.

56:22Ollie Connolly:There aren't as many pin down guys as good as him, as young as he is in the league. There are concerns. I think Tyler Guyton is still a concern. There's going to be a Terrence Steele drop off. But I think 18 is pretty good value. I do too. And especially for a team this late, and this is why offensive lines are unpredictable. If you told me the Cowboys have a top five or six offensive line this year, like that is a possible outcome for them. The case against them would be, you really didn't think you needed to do anything this offseason, Cowboys? I was a little surprised about that. Matt Hennessey and fourth-round pick Drew Shelton, I believe, are their additions to this offensive line.

57:00And I know they've taken – look, they take a Tyler every other year in the first round, but I just feel like you could have added a little more. You have Clayton Adams there as your coach. Connor Riley, you know, the offensive line coach. But the continuity is pretty good, and usually I give extra points for continuity. All right, let's go to 19. I'm hemming and hawing because I'm struggling with where to go here I don't even really believe in this but like the point you say this a lot the point is to hold the trophy at the end of the year we want to have a parade or not that's what we're trying to do it we're trying to hold a parade and the exact same offensive line that won the Seahawks the Super Bowl is coming back In a weird airless society where I'm just like taking the five players, I don't feel amazing about the Seahawks, and that's why they've fallen to 19.

57:55But I'm going to stop their fall. I'm surprised they didn't do more this offseason. And yet Abe Lucas and Charles Cross, that's a good tackle combination to be available this late. Gray Zabel, he was a rookie who showed really high upside at a position that's difficult to step right in there and did some really fun stuff. Jake Sundell is their center. After he came back from the injury, maybe he wasn't as good last year. They have a weak spot at right guard with Anthony Bradford if he is still starting. The depth, I think you can question it, and that's why they didn't get taken on any higher.

58:30I think this team was screaming for a couple just solid veterans, and maybe they'll continue to add or a fourth round, just keep adding for the depth. but overall they did some good things offensively last year with this group and I'm feeling like I got a good value at 19.

58:48Ollie Connolly:That's great value I'm a bonehead they were way higher on my list I skipped them as I was going through my notes and I should have taken them way earlier I love the cross Lucas tackle combination my reservation is the interior I love Gray's able as a player he's just not not as consistent right now and I do think there are some limitations in pass protection he's going to have to become such a superior run blocking player I think to overcome some of the pass per limitations which he wasn't quite as a rookie and i did think he would step in as a really impactful run blocking player as a rookie and they coached around it so well last season even as the the offense tailed off in the second half of the season until the playoffs they were able to find all these different ways i think to hide some of the weaknesses particularly bradford uh right garden and when they were changing out the centers and i just we've got to see with brian flory can he do it the way kubi acted it and not for nothing you know not the best super bowl in the world if If the Patriots, if the Seahawks defense wasn't so dominant, the offensive line would have gotten blamed for how the first, you know, 10 possessions of that Super Bowl went.

59:50But they just kind of like the Rams in the Rams-Bengals Super Bowl. They just kept getting at bats because the defense just kept getting them the ball back and eventually the dam broke there. So a little disrespectful that they got taken so late, but oh well. I mean, the other team, they're available. They're on the board that made the Super Bowl last year. Ali if you want to take him. I'll stay in that division.

1:00:11Ollie Connolly:I'll take the Miami Dolphins. Another one I really don't feel good about because I think the coaching staff is a massive problem but they have to me the guy who played center the best in the league last season. Creed Humphrey's the best center but who had the best film last season was Aaron Brewer. I think Patrick Paul moves on like very few tackles in the league. Once you move Jonas Sav who was unplayable last season from the left side to the right side. I think Patrick Paul not having to worry on his inside shoulder, there's a nuclear wasteland happening on every single snap will help Patrick Paul develop into the player he can become.

1:00:46Ollie Connolly:And that was a guy who I thought was the most fundamentally unsound, recent, like high level draft prospect of the tackle position. And he's completely reworked his footwork. And so you're getting to see, I think, the natural talent now match up with the technique. And so I think he's going to have a huge spike in how he can play this season. We'll be starting to look at him as these young tackles who's the one who could be a really really great one i think patrick paul has that potential if it continues to go that way the concern to the guard spots to me um jonah was an absolute nightmare i think moving back to the right side maybe that can help maybe not maybe just have to bench him and then canaan proctor has is higher on through the draft process than a lot of people and i prefer him starting initially at least uh left guard and you get the protection of the best player on the line is the center and then patrick paul can can move and has the recovery speed that a few other players at his size do.

1:01:36I had them lower, but the Paul Proctor Brewer center over left side could be special. They actually do have some depth off the bench. Hecht is there, right, at the center spot. I like Jamari Sawyer as kind of a bench player, and he's going to be kind of a super sub off the bench. Could be the third tackle. You never know. They might not keep Austin Jackson there at right tackle. My concern was, yeah, the coaching. I feel like it's been a little slept on that. We're just rolling with Bobby Sloick and one of Bobby Sloick's guys from Houston to run this offense. That's probably my biggest concern.

1:02:16Ollie Connolly:Yeah. I mean, Zach Yance, what he did in Houston was unforgivable. I'm stunned that he was hired for another job and he was only hired because his friend got the job. And I don't think Bobby Sloick should have got another OC job this quickly. So it's a concern. I do think the left side is so gifted and talented and the potential for maybe for 2026 I'm reaching and it will look better on reflection in three years than it will do in 18 weeks. I know. The crazy thing, and I kind of got to it at the beginning of this process, when you look at these teams on paper, I think the team's getting taken now and we're into the 20s, like their fan bases can make the case.

1:02:55I think even in the bottom five, you can make the case of like, no, that actually should just be a solid, okay offensive line if things work out right. I mean, the Dolphins have a little bit of a higher ceiling. I'm struggling. I am thinking about the Patriots. But my gut doesn't love the bench there. I think if you just line up the Packers' talent overall, I'm going to trust a little bit in the history there. I have two teams ahead of them on my board, including the Patriots. I'm just giving away my board. But when Puss comes to sub, okay, Jordan Morgan, a first-round prospect. I know he hasn't done much.

1:03:35Look great. That's a question at left tackle. Anthony Belton, who's over there at right guard, is like a second-round prospect. Zach Tom is a great player. He's at right tackle. Aaron Banks did not work out for them, but that's a big-money player, Sean Ryan. They've invested so much. There wasn't a lot of Luke Butkus stock last year. That is the offensive line coach for Matt LaFleur. And yet, you know, the pressure rate was really high. Sacks a lot. It wasn't a good year. I'm betting a little bit on a bounce back from your boy LaFleur to get what should be a relatively talented group together and to play better as a group, which is what they've done traditionally throughout the LaFleur era.

1:04:15Ollie Connolly:I don't know if it is that relatively a talented group, though. I think Jordan Morgan was just grossly overdrafted. They bet on their internal development system. We've seen absolutely none of it so far. I think he's a massive, massive question for them at left tackle. I think Anthony Beltran was overdrafted even where he went. I just don't think there's the talent there to be a starting caliber player in the league. Sean Ryan is a question mark at center. Aaron Banks, I think that's more of, can he just be a passable starter, though you're paying him like he's supposed to be a bit of a difference maker.

1:04:43Ollie Connolly:So that's more of a cap issue, I would say, than just like the player. But he certainly would, the way he played last season would be, well, if he's our fifth guy of the five, we're feeling pretty good. If he's the fourth guy, we can maybe do okay. The way they're set up right now, he's got to be the second best guy on that unit. It's one of the starkest drop-offs, I think, from the best player on the unit to kind of the average of the other four guys. And it's such a drop-off. And if you're right, if it's just not that talented, we need to start having some tough talks about Goody. You know, last few years, some of the guys that he's taken, because they have put so much into this offensive line.

1:05:21And maybe I'm just putting too much faith in an organization that's won a lot of games, and they've obviously prioritized this and has a good offensive line coach. because if they're as bad as they were a year ago, like to me, that is more on Gutekunst than it is on LeFleur. All right, you're up with 22.

1:05:39Ollie Connolly:I'll take the Patriots. It was probably foolish of me to not take them before the Dolphins, so at least I get to correct that. I have reservations about them. I have reservations still about Will Campbell at left tackle. It's not just Super Bowl base. You can go back through all the film last season. The concerns I had about him as a prospect playing a tackle in the league show up all over the place. even you go through some of the advanced metrics i mean pass block efficiency just how how efficient are you in staying in front of the other person you're trying to protect he's behind ursory in houston he's behind jc latham he's behind trey pipkins he's behind josh connelly so it's not just like a rookie situation he has a fundamental flaw of he cannot absorb power and he wants to play a game and style in which he's absorbing power and not making first contact that's going to take a major rewiring and overhaul to be able to get that fixed um i like the addition of elijah vera tucker he might be the most talented player on their line will he ever be available to play that's a bit of a concern you move in jared wilson who strolled at guard to center that's a concern how long does morgan moses have left how long does mike on whenu have left to keep playing at a plus starter level so i think there's real talent there and if you go to that too deep there's a bundle of talent to be able to put the five best guys out there maybe two years down the line but i think for 2026 specifically i just have a lot of question marks yeah the case for them and look i had them five spots ahead of the packers i don't know why maybe i'm trying not to look like a homer and i took the packers when pushed game to shove the the case for them was they were an elite offense last year i know the schedule helped but they were third in dvoa like that that's the point the offensive line i know that they weren't it wasn't all them uh by any means the running game was incredibly inconsistent.

1:07:21They really just didn't get pushed in terms of short yardage running. I'm a little less high on the bench than you are, but the starting five plus Lomu is an intriguing group. And how about Doug Marone? Did you like the Doug Marone experience last year? He's back.

1:07:36Ollie Connolly:Yeah, he's the best. He's one of the best in this generation. I love him. So him having a say in the draft and in what this five looks like gives me more confidence to not have them slightly lower. Yeah, a couple just little items from the rookie camps that mattered to me. Well, first was we mentioned Freelings battling a left tackle. So that's where he's going. He also was 325 pounds after playing at 310 last year. So that's just interesting that they either wanted him to bulk up or he did bulk up. And then Lomu, Caleb Lomu, getting those left tackle snaps at rookie camp. I mean, they drafted a left tackle and a right tackle.

1:08:13Ollie Connolly:And it's rookie camp. Were they not going to play them in the natural spots? I don't know. Rookie minicamp is a silly thing to take anything from. But if you told me Lomo, and who knows if he'd be really ready, actually, as a rookie. So that's maybe more of a 2027 question. But suddenly Will Campbell's inside and Vera Tucker maybe moves to the right. So it's like that could get pretty spicy pretty quickly. All right, let's take a final break, and we'll wrap up the offensive line rink after the break.

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1:12:03Ollie Connolly:Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Trimfaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TrimfayaRadio.com. Back on NFL Daily, we are geeking out, drafting the 32 offensive lines. I'm a little worried about taking the Falcons next because you said how great a job Ledford did a year ago. just making this group look passable considering the predictability and some of the other issues they had. But Ledford getting replaced by Bill Callahan. If you're telling me a Bill Callahan coach team is going to take over a group that's been pretty consistently greater than the sum of their parts, getting a little older with Jake Matthews and Chris Lindstrom, but they replaced Drew Dahlman last year pretty seamlessly with Ryan Newsel.

1:13:00Juwan Taylor's there at right tackle. I'm not excited about that, but you could do worse. When I say, hey, the point of the offensive line, just be average. I feel like this group could be what you mean. And with what Callahan brings in the running game, they could maybe be a little better than that.

1:13:19Ollie Connolly:Yeah, I think the bench would be more of the concern if they lose any of the starting five. Even Juwan Taylor, I think it becomes a bit of a problem. I think 23 is a completely fair range. My only thing with them would be some people may overstate the impact Callahan can have and not factor in how good Dwayne Ledford was in the job he did last year. There's a diminishing returns on how much better he can coach up the five. And although the offense was predictable and a mess by design, it did put all those guys in the spot to play their positions, how they play best, which is a lot of kick and go, a lot of wide zone stuff.

1:13:51Ollie Connolly:So it may have made them look more impactful as a group because they're just being asked to do the same thing over and over again, which is their best traits as opposed to if they're in a bit more of a diversified offense they've put in some more compromised assignments will they be able to actually hold up the same way they did last season also Jake Matthews incredible career you know at some point it has to become a little less consistent than it's been Lindstrom big name maybe a little overrated for what he brings but I feel fine with him at 23 in terms of the continuity alright you're up at 24 I'm going to take the Bengals they to me are the ones that speak of all the averageness.

1:14:26Ollie Connolly:There's not much to get you excited. You're not going to get the warm and fuzzies watching Dylan Fairchild flounder around. Maybe Dalton Reisner gets you a little bit excited. Amarius Mims? Can I sell you on a little Amarius Mims becoming like a pro ball tackle? Pro ball might be a bit of a stretch. He is so incredibly physically gifted and he's just hard to run through. And that is a lot of what the league is right now. You set someone wide, try and run through people. No one can get through him. I'm not sure they change any one of them, including Mims, changes your life as an offense. But I think they're really solid across the board.

1:15:01Ollie Connolly:And Conor Liu, I think, as the center, could maybe replace Ted Karras by the end of the season. Maybe that's more to 2027. I really like Brian Parker, the tackle they drafted, who can play all five spots. So I think they've got a little bit more depth if they need it this year. Yeah, Orlando Brown did not have a great year last year, and then he signed a big contract. You know, they they really struggled in terms of the team win rates and PFFs rankings last year. They were a bottom five offensive line. They really it was it wasn't quite same old Bengals to a few years ago, but it wasn't that far off.

1:15:36Like they look OK on paper. I do worry a little bit about the coaching and I'm glad you took them.

1:15:42Ollie Connolly:There's a big concern on the coaching. Scott Peters was in Cleveland. That was a disaster. He was with the 2024 Patriots staff, which might be the old time coaching disaster. for one year. So that's a massive concern. The numbers change dramatically when Dalton Reisner steps into the lineup. So he's doing a lot of heavy lifting for who he is as a player and that this phase of his career. But I just think they're more average than below average across the board. Sneaky good signing, bringing Reisner back without any drama. He's just been like standing out. He's always upset with his team. People are always upset with the Bengals in general and they just like quietly brought him back and that was a good move by them.

1:16:17I'm pumped that the Vikings are still on the board here. I feel good about that. There are injury questions. Certainly Will Fries came over last year at guard and didn't live up to that contract. It wasn't healthy. Brian O 'Neill is getting older, so it's a little more. He's been a very good right tackle. I'm not saying he's at the end of his career, but it's getting closer to that. But you have Christian Derisaw, and I'm giving him a bonus, an extra year away from the surgery. You have a first round pick in Donovan Jackson, who you're thinking is going to improve at left guard. Brandel at center maybe is your weak spot that you're looking for.

1:16:54But in general, last year, you know, in terms of the metrics, in terms of the offense, they were solid. They were they were right in the middle. And with Derrissaw, especially in Jackson, you're hoping they have a ceiling to go a little higher.

1:17:07Ollie Connolly:Yeah, the ceiling, I think, is much higher than this. Particularly if Jackson takes a leap, if Will Fries can stay healthy for the entire season, and if O 'Neal just kind of stabilizes, I think that they could leap way higher than this and probably was dumb of me to take the Bengals before I dug them. Finally, I feel like I got one over on Oli. That's what I mean. Like 25th, them coming in 25th, I feel fine about it. Their line's fine. You just got to hope against the injuries. And they actually drafted a guy tiering in in the third round, so a little bit of depth. Van Denmark was a guy they brought over as a restricted free agent from Buffalo.

1:17:43So even the depth that I feel okay in the first post-Quessie year in Minnesota. All right, you got 26.

1:17:49Ollie Connolly:I'll take the Commanders. They have the best player left of probably all the units on the board in Laramie Tunsil at tackle. I really don't understand moving on from Tyler Biatish. I just find that really confusing to move Nick Allegretti to center. They have some upside, I guess, with Josh Connolly. If Sam Cosme is healthy, he's a really impactful guard. I just cannot really wrap my head around Beatty, so I probably knocked them further than I should have done. Yeah, Chris Paul was fine for them at guard, and they brought him back off the bench. You have two players, which are good bench players, Brandon Coleman and Andrew Wiley.

1:18:27They are part of a young staff, one of the more fascinating coaching staffs, I think, to watch. Darnell Stapleton is going to be their offensive line coach, part of a young, new staff under David Blau, and so that'll be interesting to watch. He'd be heading to London. You're getting ready for some Stapleton views in week four, Ali.

1:18:45Ollie Connolly:He did unreal work at Louisiana and Florida. He built the whole run game for Billy Napier, which got him the Florida head coaching job. So I think they were at their best in 2024, doing all kinds of wackadoo blocking mechanic stuff in the run game, taking kind of feature run designs. They've been in the league for 40 years, and Cliff put some new fresh ideas on them. I think Stapleton can do some similar type work. Okay, 27. I'm going Cardinals. I think the right tackle is one of the worst spots in the league right now. It's Elijah Wilkinson as your projected right tackle. There aren't many bigger holes, and the bench looks pretty brutal, to be honest.

1:19:24The coach is just in front. I'm giving you all the negatives. This is why they fell to 27. That said, if you told me a different situation, a different organization, a different offensive line coach, all that, and you told me Paris Johnson at left tackle, good player, Sayamalu, you know, coming off some of the best years of his career, getting a little older, but at guard. Froholt, who's a hipster favorite like yourself at center. And you draft one of the better guards in the draft, Chase Basantis, at right guard. That's a good-looking group. Like, that could be a good group. I feel like I got great value here at 27.

1:19:58Ollie Connolly:I agree with you. I think if you shoot your eye from center to left side, you could talk me into putting them into, like, the top 12. Right. There is the right side of the line. There is the depth concerns. even Besantis who is a prospect I really liked in the draft I'm not quite sure he fits what they're looking for and what they want to be as an offensive line or as an offense he is more of a protection quick feet based player than near someone who's going to drive you off the ball in the run game they drafted a running back third overall they brought in Isaac Sayamali they have Froholt to be a power drive you off the off the ball type offense so I don't think he quite aligns with necessarily his best strengths I don't think align with who they truly want to be as an offensive that could be a bit of a roller coaster early on and you've got the roller coaster and as we said at the top that stood next to each other in besantis and wilkinson or udo or whoever is a right tackle it could start looking a bit gnarly yeah and they're who's their line good justin fry he he came from ohio state he was there last year which is maybe a little bit of a knock for them uh so they kept him in the in the michael fleur era this we're at the stage of the draft the bottom five teams.

1:21:02I officially feel bad because you can squint and see these teams being much better. Who do you feel bad about at 28?

1:21:09Ollie Connolly:The Tennessee Titans. I'll take. I had them lower. Don't feel great about it. I decided to put them last. That's completely fair. You're starting a new center who played fine in relief duty but is coming in because he's buddies with the offensive coordinator who appeared to be allowed to run the entire offseason for reasons that are completely unclear. I think Skronsky is developing into being the best left guard in all of football. And so I at least get Skronsky with this draft pick. I think Latham has shown improvement and could be at least passable at tackle. I still think he'd be better playing at right guard for him and you'd have a really fun guard combination.

1:21:46Ollie Connolly:Dan Moore, it's a disaster zone. That's a problem. We're in the realm where there's a disaster zone for all these units somewhere. And I thought that Carmen Bricolo, who was with Dayball last year, did an absolutely horrific job. So I have almost no idea why I took them a 28th overall over the fact I really like Peter Skronsky and I, I want to take him off the board. JC Latham could develop. I heard some whispers like I like what that they weren't. This staff maybe is not necessarily happy with what they have in JC Latham. It wouldn't have shocked me if I heard some with, you know, like, oh, that he could have been available to move up in the draft or something like that.

1:22:24That would have been creating another hole. So I get why they didn't do it. The coaching should help them get better. I love the Skaransky shout out. I apologize for being rude for typing while you were talking, but I was trying to figure out, Ali, and this is almost impossible with the Titans, who was responsible for drafting Skaransky because they have had a different decision maker literally every year for five straight years. Shout out to Rand Carthon. He was the GM. That was his one draft, I believe. And he took Skaransky, which now, years later, it's looking pretty good.

1:22:54Ollie Connolly:and the path that Will Campbell should take and the Patriots should just acknowledge and say we could have one of the best interior players in the small if we just move them inside and get over our egos. Good call. I'm going Raiders next. Why not? You got Colton Miller. Hopefully he's healthy. That's a good left tackle. Maybe, were they last on your board or no? No, they were second to last. Okay. Spencer Burford coming over from the 49ers. I don't know. He's played. But you have Linderbaum. You have Powers Johnson, who hasn't been great as a pro, but a lot of people loved him as a prospect, and you get him at guard.

1:23:28DJ Glaze is here at right guard. You drafted some players, Caleb Rogers and Grant last year, who could develop into good bench guys. You took Trey Zune off the bench, so there's some depth here. Rick Dennison is involved, coming over with Clint Kubiak from the world champions. And so on paper, plus the coaches, I'm cool with this. I mean I guess we're just splitting hairs I didn't have them much higher than you either I had him 29th

1:23:57Ollie Connolly:Denison has been with the Kubiak family basically the entire Kubiak family life so there's at least going to be alignment from that standpoint and I do think that Lindemann and Powers Johnson Powers Johnson really struggles but if there's any offense he can operate in I think and become a passable player for you would be this offense and I've been on DJ Glaze Island his entire career it is rough in the streets it is rough on the island we gotta get help so i i think they have three really concerning weak points particularly in pass protection and linda bump can be a problem in pass protection for you you will get all the upside in the run game it's the perfect system for him to go in and be the kind of impact play they want him to but when it's a straight drop back situation it's cold to miller and then it's question marks everywhere else so i imagine dj glaze island like yeah the the streets you're talking about that's that's where they're not showing the tourists that's that's far away from the beach it's taking hallucinogens because it's gone so wrong you're imagining some kind of city architecture uh what what did you call um what's it the the falcon the the guard it was a nuclear fallout i believe where jonah sav played last year uh jonah sav created a nuclear wasteland that's just mean i um i love it though number 30 on my list this is where i'm really feeling bad But I actually like that it makes us put a number to it.

1:25:20I have the Jaguars next. And I think Jaguars fans are going to see this. They were a productive offense this year. And they have concerns about their own team's offensive line. But they're going to say, like, that is preposterous. That is ridiculous to have them 30. But these exercises force you to actually make the list and put someone there in the bottom. And, yeah, like, it could work out. They liked Van Lannen. Became kind of a fine for them at left tackle. Cole Van Lannen. And he's good. You brought in Robert Hainsey and Patrick McCurry, who had varying effectiveness at center and guard for them last year.

1:25:53Anton Harrison was a high pick who's played pretty well for them last year. And so it's not a bad group, Ezra Cleveland at left guard. It's not the worst group ever. They added Emmanuel Pregnant. I can see the vision where they're perfectly fine, where they're the 12th offensive line in the league. The win rates actually were quite good for them last year. PFF had them rated much lower. But again, it like added up to kind of like a middle tier group. And then yet with the personnel, I think they got a lot of help from the scheme. That scheme will still be there. But does the league catch up to them a little bit?

1:26:26I think that has to be part of the reason you haven't taken them yet. I did have them a little higher on my original board. They were more like 25, but they end up falling here to 30.

1:26:35Ollie Connolly:Yeah, this is who I would have taken. I think you made all the right points. that as the sum of the they're better as a collective than the sum of the parts eventually that can just get you if you play five down it's one-on-one across the board it's it's pretty concerning i do think harrison is a really good player i think van lanen showed a lot uh when he came into the starting lineup and i'm a huge robert hainsey believer though it dropped off pretty starkly after we talked about him on the show um almost a year ago now um but i just don't think they have the the natural personnel to be like locked in as this is going to be an upper unit in the league year after year.

1:27:08And by you saying that's who you would have taken, you're too polite, Ali. I just took two picks in a row, I realized. No, I just spaced out, so I rolled with it. You forget being polite. You got to be like, Greg, you just took my pick. Literally, I went Raiders, Jags, back to back. But it's good to know that that's who you would have taken. That's how you know we've been doing this countdown a little too long. I feel bad for the final two teams. But I guess I got to give you the honors for 31 and 32 in a row here.

1:27:39Ollie Connolly:I'll take the Texans at 31. Deeply problematic all over the spot. Even drafting Keelan Rutledge, who like anyone who watches the sport, admires that kind of player. I really liked him as a prospect. He is a powerful, imposing run blocker. Moving him to center with the issues they have in pass protection, I think is a real problem. I don't think he's a natural center in the league. I think he's a natural guard can be an impactful guard starting guard in the league they effectively need cj stroud and someone's probably going to sit down with cj stroud and say do you want to be tom brady or peyton manning that's what you have to commit to being the best guy at running the pre-snap operation in the entire league does he want to do that that's how they want to run their offense it's all new england guys and you can see how poor it was last year in terms of the protection plan and they would just keep chopping and changing and inserting anyone into the lineup who had some touch point to new england that's just what they would do over and over again at the guard and the center spots just someone who spoke the common language because they couldn't get on the same page at all and if we aren't holed up in talent let's at least all know where we're supposed to be what the assignments are so they just need a either an overall of the protection system which i don't believe they will do or they need cj stroud to kind of take command of the thing because you cannot ask a rookie center who's not played center in the most recent seasons to walk in and do all the communication stuff for you the way Jake Andrews did.

1:29:02Ollie Connolly:I just have reservations if CJ Schraub wants to be that kind of quarterback. Yeah, I like that they put a lot of resources into this offseason. They had to. Wyatt Teller makes sense for them. Brayden Smith at right tackle is a risk just because of the concussions and everything, but he makes sense for them. They drafted, who was it? Fabechi Weewoo, like in the middle rounds. Your hope in Ursary develops. You have some guys on the bench, even Blake Fisher, Trent Brown, who have played for this team. Ed Ingram showed them something. Again, you can see the vision. And yet, I had them bottom four.

1:29:40So it's not like they fell much further than I would have had them because of what you said. It's more about the coaching and does it all just throwing names at it. Do they have a cohesive plan? I am worried, which is kind of what the Browns did. They're 32. This could work, too. It's a grand experiment, brand new offensive line. George Warhop was coaching the Browns offensive line when Joe Thomas was just starting his career, and Alex Mack was his center. And he's back. I don't know if that's good or not, but they have players we recognize. They certainly could be a lot better. It's different than drafting wide receivers in different positions where, like I said, I think these bottom five, there is absolutely past them being average if everything works out.

1:30:26Give me the path for the Browns actually working out.

1:30:30Ollie Connolly:Everyone stays healthy. Farnu hits the ground running and is at least a serviceable starter, which most rookie tackles just aren't, unfortunately, but he at least is better than the expectations of a traditional rookie. Everyone stays healthy and fine. They can build a cohesion quickly, which I just think is so tough to do when you're replacing all five guys. Then one guy goes down and you've got to throw Kendrick Green or Parker Brailsford in. I think the depth is such a concern with a bunch of players who have some injury reservations. That would be my major concern. The upside would be if they can keep all five guys healthy for a good chunk of the season, there is some overlap in how they play their best ball, which is the interior guys want to drive you off the ball in the run game, and the two tackles just want to play keep away and pass, bro.

1:31:13Ollie Connolly:And so that kind of makes sense as a five-man unit. I worry that the Texans were so willing to move off of Titus Howard in that contract that Zion Johnson, even though the charges were in on him, Like, yes, he improved late in his rookie contract, but you still have to consider the rest of the rookie contract. And then Jenkins, Elton Jenkins at center is curious to me, just didn't seem like it's always been his best position. So it's it's like a lesser version to me of the Saints, who are maybe the number one boomer bust offensive line. They could be a top five offensive line. They went in the middle because there's a little bit of risk involved.

1:31:48This is a boomer bust offensive line where they can get to the middle. I think if they hit, like there are best outcomes for almost all these guys that is pretty respectable and that they're just a more watchable offense this year.

1:32:00Ollie Connolly:I'm not going to give these guys any praise, though, that I've been hearing that, oh, they were able to get all five guys in replacements. Like that was their active choice. What else were they going to do? Not sign anyone to play the positions. Right. I just don't understand it. And they took a tackle in Spence of Farno, who I was not the top tackle on my board, was the fourth tackle on my board. So I thought that was even a reach. and there's massive expectation on him moving from the right side to the left side for even the best possible outcome for him to be a serviceable player as a rookie.

1:32:27Ollie Connolly:It just doesn't happen. Elton Jenkins, you mentioned, his best position is playing at guard. They're pushing him to center. Titus Howard gives you some positional versatility, but they've signed him as he's going to be the starting right tackle for us. So I think, or traded for him, I should say. So I think that it's way more bust than boom. The boom would be Spencer Farno looks excellent even if the rest is a mess. Yeah, he's obviously the most important guy, although Zion Johnson is a long-term player there with that contract. And we'll see about the rest. They drafted a guy, Austin Barber, to kind of be a swing tackle.

1:32:58That made sense to me. But they created that situation, and ultimately, they could have been spending money elsewhere. That's more the bigger problem, is that they spent top-of-the-market prices to get Jenkins and Johnson. And meanwhile, every Browns fan tells me, it's like, well, they didn't need to fix anything on defense. The defense is great. You always need to be adding to that side of the ball. And without Jim Schwartz there, you can expect a decline. And they ignored other spots on the roster to fix the offensive line. So they pull up the rear here at 32. We did it, Ollie. I was worried.

1:33:28And actually, the board didn't go that differently than my board. So I feel good about that.

1:33:33Ollie Connolly:I know. I wanted to bring more chaos. I should have taken the Saints in the top 10. Yes. That's what I should have done. Because I felt a little bit like one of those right tackles on an island when maybe they weren't ready. You're more the offensive line guy. I'm just trying to hold up and survive through this one. We'll get to another rankings next week. We're putting Ali through the ringer here, giving him big assignments. That'll be at the end of next week. We're not at the end of this one. Let's hit the music. Let's talk about Thursday. We're going to be live on the NFL channel, by the way, for anyone who wants to watch the Fast Network NFL channel, me, Patrick, and Jordan.

1:34:10But we're also going to be in your ears, the NFL Daily Podcast, The minute the schedule comes out, we'll finish out the week with all the schedule analysis and goodies. We'll see you then.

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