Ranking the North: Some Underwhelming Interior Offensive Lines
Josh Frey
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The interior offensive line is a group that often goes unnoticed, unless you are a Minnesota Vikings fan. Over the past few years, Vikings fans have gotten to know firsthand what can happen to pass protection if that unit performs poorly. That said, where do they stand compared to the rest of the NFC North in 2022?
1. Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers have always been committed to making sure their star quarterback Aaron Rodgers is protected. Josh Myers was a second-round pick out of Ohio State, and after undergoing knee surgery, he has a lot to prove in Year Two.
At another of their guard spots, they have one of the most versatile offensive linemen in the entire NFL. Elgton Jenkins filled in at left tackle last year when David Bakhtiari was out recovering from injury. Over the course of his first three seasons, he has played both tackle spots, center, and left guard.
Jenkins’ most natural spot is that left guard position, and seeing as Bakhtiari is back, he should slide back into that spot this year. The right guard position is undecided at this point, but it’s undeniable that Green Bay has supreme talent at least two of the three interior spots. That is something that no other NFC North team can say right now.
2. Detroit Lions
Frank Ragnow is a former first-round selection at center and remains one of the best centers in all of the NFL when healthy. Heading into his fifth season, Ragnow is coming off a 2021 season where he played just four games, but he had a PFF grad of 86.7, In 2020, his grade was 80.3. As long as the 26-year-old can stay healthy, he should have a great 2022 campaign.
Once you move past Ragnow though, the Lions o-line quickly gets underwhelming on the interior. Again, it’s not so much that they aren’t talented, but health is a problem. Halapoulivaati Vaitai played 15 games in 2021, but he struggled with a foot injury throughout the 2020 season. This is a unit that shows a ton of potential, but they are yet to put together a full season together, If they can finally beat the injury bug in 2022, they should jump into the No. 1 spot in the NFC North.
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3. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings interior offensive line has never been a group of players that inspires a ton of confidence from fans, at least not in recent history. However, like the Detroit Lions, it is a group that may be on the rise. In back-to-back drafts, they’ve invested Day Two picks on guards by taking Wyatt Davis in 2021 and Ed Ingram in 2022. Assuming one of them eventually wins the right guard spot, that should be a vast improvement over recent years,
Another player looking to prove a point in 2022 is center Garrett Bradbury. The starting spot in the middle is not determined by any means, but Bradbury’s fifth-year option was not picked up by the Vikings. It is now-or-never for the Vikings center, so hopefully he goes into the 2022 season with a chip on his shoulder.
4. Chicago Bears
Right now, the Bears offensive line that gave up 58 sacks last year really doesn’t look much better. In fact, one of the “positives” that people are pointing to is the fact that Cody Whitehair lost weight rather than packing on more muscle. This may help him move a little smoother, but it this is a limiting factor given that he is a guard.
Additionally, the Bears themselves seem uncertain in where they want to go with this o-line. Teven Jenkins has spent a good amount of time practicing with the backups in OTAs. That;s not a good look for a second-round pick that the Bears spent a lot of draft capital to select. Overall, this unit seems set up to fail in 2022.
