AFC Position Rankings: OL

1)      Denver Broncos: The best player on Denver’s team is left tackle Ryan Clady. As a rookie, the former Boise State offensive lineman started 16 games and only gave up a half of a sack protecting Jay Cutler’s blindside. Cutler won’t miss Broncos fans in Chicago, but he will miss this great left tackle. Center Casey Weigmann has started 118 straight games and is a big reason why Denver’s running backs rushed for 4.8 yards per carry last season.

2)      Tennessee Titans: This unit started 79 of 80 games last season and Chris Johnson and LenDale White combined for 2,001 rushing yards. The Titans only gave up 12 sacks last season, tying them with the Broncos for the league lead. Kerry Collins is not a mobile quarterback, but this line finds a way to protect the 81-year old quarterback. Center Kevin Mawae is still one of the best in the business and left tackle Michael Roos is one of the best in the game. Roos made his first Pro Bowl last season and is the main reason that the Titans will have a great offensive line for many years.

3)      Baltimore Ravens: This is the most resilient offensive line in the NFL as the Ravens have lost Hall of Fame left tackle Jonathan Ogden and center Jason Brown the last two years. Brown left for more money and the Ravens upgraded by bringing in former Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl center Matt Birk. He is past his prime at age 32, but Birk is still one of the best centers in the game and is a lock to start almost every game this season. Left tackle Jared Gaither was a surprise starter in 2008, considering he was a fifth round Supplemental pick in 2007. Gaither will be protecting Joe Flacco’s blindside for many years and the Ravens also drafted the right tackle of the future in the first round of the 2009 draft. Former Ole Miss tackle Michael Oher may make some rookie mistakes, but Oher will be a Pro Bowl tackle in a couple of years. The Ravens finished fourth in rushing and this ranking could do up with Ray Rice expected to be a breakout star. The line won’t give up as many sacks this year now that Joe Flacco is in his second season.

4)      New York Jets: Bill Callahan was a disaster of a college coach at Nebraska, but Callahan is a very good offensive line coach that has plenty of talent to work with. Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson is a beast of a man at 6-6, 312 pounds. Ferguson started every game last season and only allowed four sacks. The two best offensive linemen on this roster are left guard Alan Faneca and center Nick Mangold. Faneca was a very good acquisition last offseason and has 169 career starts. Mangold was a first round draft pick in 2006 and only gave up two sacks this season. This is a good running team with Thomas Jones, Leon Washington and Shonn Greene that will have no problem getting yards behind this great offensive line.

5)      Cleveland Browns: This is the surprise of the list, but the Browns have two very good young players in left tackle Joe Thomas and rookie center Alex Mack. Thomas is a former first round pick that made the Pro Bowl in 2008. Thomas is one of the best left tackles in the game and is now joined by another first round pick in Mack. The former California center was one of the best centers to play college football this decade and should form a very dominant duo with Thomas. This line gave up 24 sacks last season and struggled at times in the run game, but we have so much faith in Mack’s ability that we are ranking them this high. Eric Steinback missed two games last season with a shoulder injury, but he is a very solid veteran that will benefit playing next to Mack and Thomas.