2024 OL Free Agency Rankings

The top 38 OL broken down by position and categorized into tiers with analysis on the top 31

Photo via Tyler Wise

Free agency officially kicks off at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 13th, and the legal tampering period begins the Monday before at 12 p.m. ET on March 11th, which is when information on deals will start leaking out. This is a much deeper free agency class than last year’s group for the offensive line, especially along the interior positions. Similarly to last year, the goal with this tiered breakdown is to provide a comprehensive ranking system that people can use as an index to track value for teams signing OL.

With there being several viable, quality starters in the market at guard and center along with the dramatic uptick in the salary cap earlier this off-season, expect some formidable contracts to be dished out at these positions. The supply shortage at tackle is even more pronounced this year in free agency. There’s Tyron Smith, a sizable gap and then everyone else. The simple fact is that there are very few human beings with the necessary blend of size, athletic ability, play strength and an overall skill-set to play along the offensive line at the NFL level (especially tackle), so the ones that have experience doing it at even a mediocre level will be coveted, let alone the select few that hit the open market and are solid or above average starters. Even players that don’t have experience but have a couple of important traits to build on will have suitors. My goal is to provide a few lines on the top options in this year’s free agent class with some context on their backgrounds and what they offer teams.

You will also notice terminology like “Player X could be the third best starter on your unit,” or “If your OL unit is very good, Player X could be your fifth best starter.” This is a framework to help conceptualize player value along the offensive line that I think adds clarity.

Ideally, ‘solid’ starters in free agency are signed to be the fourth best starters on an OL unit. If the unit is top-tier, they can be your fifth best starter (ex. Isaac Seumalo/Andrew Wylie in 2022 for the Eagles/Chiefs or Graham Glasgow/John Simpson in 2023 for the Lions/Ravens). If your unit is average or below average, a free agent lineman can be your third best starter. They will rank higher if your OL is marginal, poor or a unit starting from scratch. You can also have an entire starting five of solid starters, which would collectively result in an above average unit. This is a classic example of how a unit can be ‘greater than the sum of their parts.’ While this is an idealistic way to view team-building on the OL, it is very difficult to achieve.

Ultimately, teams should tailor their approach to their respective team, offense, coaching staff and individual players on the OL unit by adding the best possible fits. In this class, there is an unusually high number above average/good, ‘third best’ starters on the interior that can become your second best starters on a middle of the pack unit or the fourth best starters on a very good or elite unit. The bulk of the class are adequate or below average starters that are best signed as a team’s ‘fifth best’ starter but we will inevitably see many of them thrust up the hierarchy out of necessity.

Some can also be signed to compete in camp with the aim of adding depth at a specific position that already has starters in place who are dealing with durability or longevity questions.

These rankings are based on my personal film study over the course of the player’s career with an emphasis on their most recent season.

Offensive tackle rankings

Name - Age Week 1 of the 2024 season

It should be noted that between left and right tackle the former is the more talent-rich, deeper position group and consequently requires more of a financial investment to fill which is reflected in the salary breakdown between the two spots. This should also make it a little easier for a quality right tackle to find a starting role in free agency since there are more holes for teams to fill on that side compared to the left.

Tier 1 - Very good starter

1. Tyron Smith - 33

The tackle group in this year’s free agency market consists of Tyron Smith and then everyone else. Smith is a short-term answer for a line, but for a unit that may be a left tackle away from being complete or near complete, adding him would bring an impact starter into the fold. There is also the additional off-field value to the offensive line room and locker room of adding a future Hall of Famer. That kind of addition will pay dividends to a team from a cultural and developmental aspect. Smith was rightfully named a Second Team All-Pro after a vintage 2023 season with 14 starts (13 regular season, one playoff) and stretches of dominance we haven’t seen in multiple seasons.

Tier 2 - Above average starter

NA

Tier 3 - Solid/average starter

2. Trent Brown - 31

Brown is coming off of another injury-filled season after a red-hot start to the year following an excellent 16-start season in 2022 with dominant performances as a run-blocker to go along with his usual pass-protection prowess. Brown has had his fair share of injury issues, but when he is on the field, there are few more effective pass-protectors at the position. He also offers dominant stretches as a run-blocker. Ideally, he is signed to a short-term, incentive-laden sort of deal that would give a team an easy way out while also incentivizing and rewarding high-end (tier 2) play that no other left tackle available outside of Smith can replicate.

3. Jonah Williams - 26

After initially requesting a trade once the Bengals signed Orlando Brown to play left tackle last off-season, Williams quickly shifted gears and accepted his role as the team’s right tackle. He wasn’t cleared from a season-ending knee injury until June which delayed the transition, but he was able to settle in nicely as the year went on, especially over the second half of the season. Williams doesn’t offer the ceiling of a player like Brown, but he is a younger, more durable and steady player who projects as an average, functional starter at right tackle for 2024 and beyond.

Tier 3 - Below average starter

4. Mekhi Becton - 25

Becton has been an enigma so far during his career given his immense physical talent, injuries and inconsistent technique that has resulted in tantalizing flashes sandwiched between extensive underachieving. Becton’s saving grace is that he turns just 25-years old in April, giving him the runway to develop into a reliable starter with an outside shot of jumping up multiple tiers in the tackle hierarchy.

In a place like Cincinnati under line coach Frank Pollack (who Becton had his best year under with the Jets in 2020), the fit would make a lot of sense. Becton’s market is the most interesting of any of the tackles given his pedigree, age and talent.

5. Charles Leno - 32

Leno is coming off of a 13-start 2023 season (his first missed games since 2015). Despite middling power or strength, Leno’s resourceful, crafty approach has led to an incredibly productive 141-start career as a former seventh round draft pick. For a team searching for a capable, stopgap level starter with a proven track record at left tackle, Leno’s length, aggressiveness and well-rounded skill-set can fill that need while providing the O-line room with a steady veteran presence.

6. George Fant - 32

Over the last three seasons Fant has had the two best years of his career (2021 & 2023), sandwiching an injury-plagued 2022 season. Fant was a key off-season acquisition for a playoff team in Houston last season, filling in admirably at right tackle inside the Texans play-action focused scheme that provided extensive help to Fant in pass protection against upper-tier edge-rushers. At a relatively young 32-years old given his developmental curve as a part-time starter over his first few seasons in the NFL, Fant can be viewed as an adequate potential starter over the next couple of seasons.

7. Chukwuma Okorafor - 27

Okorafor started the last three and a half seasons at right tackle for the Steelers before being benched in Week 8 last year and not returning to the starting lineup the rest of the season. Okorafor has been a below average starter his whole career. Leaving the team that drafted him should relegate him to having to compete for a right tackle job somewhere with most of his value coming as a young, quality swing tackle.

Update: Okorafor reportedly signed with the Patriots on Thursday, March 7th

8. Yosh Nijman - 28

Nijman is a former undrafted free agent entering his sixth season with 22 career starts split between left and right tackle. Nijman has ideal size, good length and impressive movement skills to reach his landmarks in pass-protection. The finer aspects of technique, positioning and use of hands remains underdeveloped for a full-time starting role, but he’s in just his fifth career season with minimal tread off his tires. The pieces are in place for Nijman to compete for a swing tackle role somewhere.

9. Jermaine Eluemunor - 29

Eluemunor is coming off 31 starts for the Raiders over the last two seasons compared to 14 over his first five. Eluemunor has a guard body type with the balance and play strength to build his house, end fights quickly against power-rushers and deliver some jolt in the run game. He will struggle to protect the corner consistently on true drop back passes due to only adequate range and mirroring skills, but he can plug a hole at right guard or tackle as the fourth or fifth best lineman on most units.

10. Donovan Smith - 31

After missing just two games over the first seven years of his career, durability became Smith’s calling card, but that reputation has taken a hit over the last two seasons as he has missed nine games over that span, including five games last year with the Chiefs (although he started all four playoff games). Smith brings outstanding size and physicality to the position with flashes of equally impressive power in the run and pass game. The issue is that Smith’s consistency and technique on the field are streaky, resulting in some glaring, clean losses that can cripple an offense. He minimized those during the 2020 and 2021 seasons before taking a step back the last two years. At this point, Smith likely offers teams an adequate starter with a few highlight-reel blocks sprinkled in over the course of a season.

11. Josh Jones - 27

Jones has been a preseason all-star the last couple of years, is still relatively young and entering just his fifth career season in 2024 with impressive flashes, but not being able to bridge the gap between talent and consistent technique to win/hold down a starting job suggests a swing tackle role is the likely long-term outcome for his career. Assuming a modest asking price with his contract that would be well worth a dice roll for depth while offering enough talent for a coach to work to develop into more.

Interior line rankings

Tier 1 - Very good starter

1. Jonah Jackson - 27

Jackson dealt with a slew of injuries last season to his wrist, ankle and knee that kept him out of five games and caused his play to fluctuate more than normal. When Jackson was healthy over the last three seasons, no other available guard matched his explosiveness, power and movement skills. With 57 career starts over his first four seasons, a Pro Bowl under his belt and impact ability as a run and pass protector, he should be the most coveted guard this free agency period.

Tier 2 - Above average starter

2. Michael Onwenu - 26