![Buffalo Bills center Connor McGovern (66) looks on before an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_525,y_971,w_4255,h_2393/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/16/01kxbs68z1xt6s2svd74.jpg "Buffalo Bills center Connor McGovern (66) looks on before an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
The offensive line for the Buffalo Bills has been one of the team’s biggest strengths the last two seasons, but the 2024 offseason created an issue that the team was going to have to solve. The Bills were in a tough salary cap situation to where they needed to make some roster cuts that weren’t the most popular amongst the fanbase.
One of those moves that they did was release Mitch Morse, who had been Josh Allen’s center since 2019. When he was released, it made the Bills have a gap in the middle of the offensive line. Rather than going out and signing a starting center or drafting one in the early rounds, Buffalo was looking to move Connor McGovern over from guard. Even though the Bills had drafted Sedrick Van Pran-Granger in the 5th round in 2024, McGovern was set to start at center.
McGovern had signed with the Bills in 2023, coming from the Dallas Cowboys to play guard, so the transition for him was going to be something important for fans to watch. Not only did McGovern exceed expectations, he became one of the league’s best centers and helped this offensive line protect Allen and open up lanes for James Cook.
Even though McGovern has been one of the best centers the last two seasons, a ranking that was put together by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, in which executives, coaches, and scouts ranked the top interior offensive line going into the 2026 season doesn’t give McGovern enough credit that he deserves.
Bills' Connor McGovern gets overlooked in latest ESPN rankings
These rankings showed the Top 10 offensive line that were voted, and McGovern wasn’t one of them. It also showed honorable mentions, and yet McGovern still wasn’t listed there. Instead, all that he got were some votes along with players like Landon Dickerson, Kevin Dotson, Erik McCoy and a couple of others.
The interior offensive line rankings were between centers and guards, so maybe McGovern wouldn’t have been Top 5 overall, but he is well worthy of being voted as a Top 10 player in that position. He has helped Allen win his first MVP award in 2024 (which was McGovern’s first year at center), and he has helped James Cook lead the league in both rushing touchdowns (2024) and rushing yards (2025).
To say that McGovern isn’t one of the best is just ridiculous. He moved from guard to center, going into a year where the Bills’ offense was going to look a lot more different than in years prior.
The Bills obviously see McGovern as a franchise player as they found a way to extend him to a four-year deal prior to free agency starting this past March. That deal is an absolute steal when you compare to what the Las Vegas Raiders gave to Tyler Linderbaum.
With McGovern back in Buffalo for the long haul, the Bills have their anchor and Allen gets to keep continuity with his center.
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