The NFL owners have just concluded their spring league meetings, and several noteworthy changes came out of it. First, a proposal to ban the Philadelphia Eagles’ signature “Tush Push” play appeared as if it would have the muster to pass but ultimately fell two votes shy. The league also unanimously approved a motion allowing for NFL players to play in the 2028 Olympic Games, the first Olympics in which flag football will be contested.
Perhaps most unexpectedly, the league announced a new major honor: the Protector of the Year Award, given annually to the league’s best offensive lineman. It’s a change that has been pushed for all offseason by Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and retired Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth. The new honor will be determined by a panel of accomplished offensive linemen, which will likely include Whitworth.
It’s an award designed to appreciate the unsung heroes of a football team. While skill players on both sides of the ball — especially quarterbacks, running backs, edge rushers, and cornerbacks — always rank among the leading contenders for MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year, several of these skill position players’ exploits wouldn’t be possible without protection from the offensive line. Perhaps more than any other position on the field, playing on the offensive line requires a combination of size, technique, and intelligence.
In terms of pass-blocking and run-blocking excellence, a few offensive lines stood out in 2024. The Bills graded as the fifth-best pass-blocking and third-best run blocking unit in the league, per Pro Football Focus, with the Atlanta Falcons eighth and first, respectively. It’s no wonder that Josh Allen won the league’s MVP award playing behind such a stalwart protection unit and equally unsurprising that James Cook led the league with 16 rushing touchdowns. Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson also finished as PFF’s second-ranked running back after totaling 1,887 yards from scrimmage. But it was the Eagles who really excelled in the trenches, ranking sixth in pass-blocking and fourth in run-blocking as Saquon Barkley racked up nearly 2,857 scrimmage yards between the regular season and playoffs on his way to the Offensive Player of the Year Award and a Super Bowl title.
Last season’s Offensive Player of the Year voting reveals the short-list of early contenders. Kansas City Chiefs guard Joe Thuney got two fourth-place votes, the Detroit Lions’ Penei Sewell got two fifth-place votes, and Philadelphia tackle Jordan Mailata received one fifth-place vote.
Despite Thuney’s individual brilliance — he was Pro Football Focus’ seventh-ranked offensive guard and allowed just two sacks and eight quarterback hits all season — the Chiefs’ offensive line as a whole was just 17th in pass-blocking and eighth in run-blocking, and team success has always mattered in determining individual awards. Plus, Thuney now plays for the Chicago Bears, who ranked just 15th in run-blocking last season and protect a quarterback in Caleb Williams who led the league in sacks by a wide margin in 2024. Unless Williams and the Bears make huge strides this season, I’d be very surprised if Thuney wins.
Sewell would be less of a shock, given that Detroit had the league’s second-best run-blocking grade last season and Sewell was PFF’s third-graded tackle. Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs was arguably the second-best back in football, producing 1,929 scrimmage yards and a league-leading 20 total touchdowns, and Gibbs’ backfield partner David Montgomery added 1,116 scrimmage yards and 12 total scores of his own. Sewell allowed just one sack and five quarterback hits in 2024 while producing the league’s second-best run blocking grade. Detroit should be battling for the NFC’s No. 1 seed all season.
However, Mailata should be the clear favorite for the award. Overall, he graded as a 95.2, and the gap between him and second-place Rashawn Slater was nearly as large as that between Slater and sixth-place Zach Tom. Mailata has no weaknesses in his game; he was the second-best pass-blocking tackle and the best run-blocking tackle. He allowed just two sacks and zero quarterback hits between the regular season and postseason combined, and while his teammate Lane Johnson will receive plenty of votes too, Mailata was more important to the Eagles’ success. Not only does he protect Hurts’ blind side, Barkley also took 139 of his carries around the left and 133 around the right. He also averaged seven yards per carry on his attempts towards Mailata’s side and only 4.7 yards per carry on his rushes towards Johnson’s.
