It’s a very simple philosophy really. The better the offensive line, the better the offense as a whole will perform. If you think about it logically, wouldn’t be easier for a RB to run when he isn’t being touched? Shouldn’t a quarterback perform better if he has more time and wider passing lanes to throw from? The answer is yes.
The skill position players get most of the credit for the way that an offense runs. But it is truly the guys up front who provide them those opportunities. Remember Priest Holmes with the Ravens? He was a complete afterthought before landing in Kansas City with one of the best offensive lines in the history of the NFL. In 2001, Priest Holmes was running behind behemoths like Will Shields, John Tait, Casey Wiegman and Willie Roaf. All of a sudden anybody who runs the football there including Holmes, Derrick Blaylock, Tony Richardson and eventually Larry Johnson are all impact runners. How do you think players like Holmes, Terrell Davis and Arian Foster go from being barely drafted (or not at all) to NFL All-Pros? They follow a great offensive line and you should too.
Last year was a perfect example. How many of you were lead to championships by Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray? Better yet, how many of you missed out on Murray because he was a skilled runner who had injury concerns and playing for a team that was just 24th in rushing yards and 18th in rushing TD’s in 2013? But what you didn’t notice was that the Cowboys spent their first round pick on OG Zach Martin, who in turn elevated the play of the Cowboys offensive line last year. Thus, the Cowboys went from 24th to second in rushing yards, from 18th to fifth in rushing TDs and from eighth to third in yards per attempt last year. The improved offensive line helped Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant go from solid every week starters to downright fantasy superstars.
This holds true during the season as well. Every week we pore over the practice and injury reports of all the skill position players but pretty much ignore the offensive linemen. As we all know, lineup decisions can make or break your fantasy team. When setting your lineup each week it should be a priority of yours to keep tabs on the health of the offensive lineman for the players you are selecting from. If one of your RBs is missing his powerful LG (think Evan Mathis) that is a significant loss and likely will lead to reduced production for the offense.
If you go back through your history playing fantasy football and think about the players or teams that helped or hurt you the most, at the center of it all will be an offensive line. The number one question I get each and every year is “how do you uncover a breakout player?” It’s as easy as knowing the skills of the player, the impact of the system and following their offensive line.