Fanspeak Analysis: Teams that make IOL a draft priority typically make the playoffs

NFL Draft News

Generally speaking, teams devote far less draft capital on guards and centers than at most other positions, including offensive tackle.
But as a Fanspeak Analysis reveals, that line of thinking may need to change.
Below is Fanspeak’s series on the 2020 interior offensive line class. Part 2 examines the teams that are drafting guards and centers and whether that leads to playoff success.

Teams that have made the playoffs the past few years have something in common: Most of them drafted at least one guard or center during the past three drafts.

That includes New England, whose only interior offensive lineman during that time is a fourth-round rookie, Hjalte Froholdt of Arkansas, who has missed the entire season due to a preseason injury.

The list also includes Dallas, which, despite having one of the better offensive lines in football, still drafted an interior lineman the past two drafts.

And it includes New Orleans. The Saints drafted a Day 1 starter in Texas A&M rookie center Erik McCoy one year after finding a backup guard in the seventh round who’s still managed to start three games.

So, who’s not drafting interior offensive linemen?

It’s a who’s-who of teams that routinely pick at or near the bottom of the draft, with a few notable exceptions.

Who’s drafting an IOL and who’s not

Only eight teams have failed to draft an interior lineman since the 2017 draft. Those teams include Cleveland, the New York Jets, Oakland/Las Vegas, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.


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