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• A new-look Steelers offensive line is filled with upside prospects: Pittsburgh spent three top-120 draft selections on the unit, including a first-rounder on the versatile Troy Fautanu.
• The Chiefs secure some competition for their left tackle spot: Kansas City drafted BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia in the second round. He has experience at both tackle spots and earned a 76.3 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets last season.
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Several teams in the 2024 NFL Draft made a concerted effort to improve up front on offense, with nine first-round selections spent on the offensive line. How those players work out in the NFL is yet to be determined, but we can at least pass judgment on which offensive lines have improved the most over the past few days.
Here are the most improved offensive lines in the league following the 2024 NFL Draft.
Pittsburgh Steelers
On paper, the offensive line rebuild the Steelers put together through the 2024 NFL Draft could go down as one of the best ever. They used three selections on the unit, all inside the top 120 picks in the draft. It started with Washington’s Troy Fautanu, whose 88.2 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2023 ranked fifth among FBS tackles. He can start at either tackle or guard.
Pittsburgh followed that up by adding West Virginia’s Zach Frazier to man the middle of the offensive line. He allowed just a 2.3% pressure rate over the past three seasons. And then there is South Dakota State’s Mason McCormick. While he played at a smaller school, he earned a 90.3 PFF grade over the past two seasons, dominating at that level.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys needed help at multiple spots on their offensive line heading into the NFL draft and used two top-75 selections on the unit. Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton looks set to man the left side of their offensive line, and while he is a bit of a project, having earned a 59.0 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets last season, his athleticism gives him the chance to develop into a future star.
Dallas used a third-round pick on Kansas State’s Cooper Beebe, who earned a 91.8 PFF grade over the past three seasons to rank first among FBS guards, and grabbed Louisiana’s Nathan Thomas in the seventh round.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The selection of Duke’s Graham Barton in the first round isn’t just a good move because of his excellent college career, during which he earned an 88.7 PFF grade over the past two seasons to rank fifth among FBS tackles. It’s also a good move because of his versatility. Barton played center early in college and will likely play on the interior of the line for the Buccaneers; he is comfortable across the unit.
UTEP’s Elijah Klein, selected in the sixth round, wasn’t on the PFF big board but did earn a 93.5 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2023.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs needed to bring in competition for Wanya Morris at left tackle, and that’s exactly what they did by drafting BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia in the second round. He has experience at both tackle spots and earned a 76.3 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets last season.
Penn State’s Hunter Nourzad, selected in the fifth round, is a nice depth addition to the interior offensive line. He played at all five spots along the line at one point or another in college and earned a 77.0 PFF run-blocking grade last season.
Los Angeles Chargers
Joe Alt was the Chargers’ only offensive line selection in this draft, but it was a move that could leave the team with the NFL’s best tackle pairing by the end of this upcoming season, with 2021 first-round draft pick Rashawn Slater on the other side. One of the most complete prospects in this draft class, Alt earned a PFF grade above 90.0 in each of the past two seasons and allowed just 13 total pressures on 774 pass-blocking snaps in that span.
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