Where does Pro Football Focus rank the new-look Buffalo Bills offensive line entering the 2019 season?
Heading into 2018, analytics firm Pro Football Focus ranked the Buffalo Bills’ offensive line as the 29th best unit in the league, only ahead of the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, and Houston Texans. By the end of the season, they had moved up to 26th. Growth, but not enough.
But the Bills’ offensive line took a massive jump between the end of 2018 and mid-July of 2019. PFF moved the unit up ten positions from their initial ranking last year, all the way to No. 19 for this year. Their reasoning behind this, according to their analysis team:
"Few offensive lines have as high of a ceiling and as low of a floor as the Buffalo Bills’. Rookie Cody Ford is the biggest question mark, as the Bills hope he can channel his college success into NFL dominance from the onset. The other pieces were up-and-down in 2018: Dawkins was called for a staggering 13 penalties, and Long was the second-lowest graded center in 2018, while Morse and Spain allowed just one sack combined for the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans, respectively."
Their projected offensive line for the Bills:
LT: Dion Dawkins
LG: Quinton Spain
C: Mitch Morse
RG: Ty Nsekhe
RT: Cody Ford
The staggering ten-spot bump up is justifiable via the Bills’ off-season moves. Only one starter from last year’s unit — left tackle Dion Dawkins — remains entrenched at the same position. Every other spot has fresh-faces ready to block for Josh Allen and pave ways for the run game.
In free agency, the Bills added a bevy of blockers by way of Mitch Morse, Quinton Spain, Ty Nsekhe, Spencer Long, and La’Adrian Waddle. The first, Morse, was the big-get, as he’s known for his high-quality pass-blocking — 81.2 pass-blocking PFF grade in 2018, seventh in the NFL amongst all qualifying centers — and was given a record-breaking contract because of so.
Spain, a former Tennessee Titan, figures to be the starting left guard. He’s started at the position for the last three seasons and has yielded good results. In 2018, he allowed just one sack, per PFF. As for Nsekhe, Long, and Waddle, each has starting experience, but the first is the most likely to start. Though the 6-foot-8 lineman’s position is unknown as of now (PFF has him at guard), he’s proved to be an excellent swiss-army backup during his last four seasons in Washington.
Last but not least is the rookie. Former Oklahoma right tackle Cody Ford earned first-round grades from many in the draft community and fell to the Bills (via a trade up) in the second-round. Though his game is often dubbed as best-suited to play on the inside, he played spring practices at right tackle — the same position he played in college.
Ford was a dominant, physically imposing blocker while at Oklahoma. He allowed just one sack in his last two seasons in Norment, per PFF. In addition, his 99.1 pass-block efficiency rating stands at fourth in his draft class at his position, while his 91.1% run-block win-rate is 45th.
The Bills’ offensive line looks to be one of the most improved units in all of the NFL. It’s clear that general manager Brandon Beane made it a priority in the off-season and acted on it. However, PFF lower No. 19 ranking is fair — despite the impressive moves made, we still don’t know how well the unit will work together. Nonetheless, it’s hard to say it’s not better than before.
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