One of the keys to success in the NFL is quality offensive line play. Without a good offensive line, it’s really hard to win at the highest level. It’s why it wasn’t a shock that the two best offensive lines in the NFL (Eagles, Chiefs) both made it to the Super Bowl last year.
But it’s also important to find value on the offensive line. In the salary cap era, it’s hard to pay four or five offensive linemen elite money. Instead, good teams need to find quality starters for cheap prices. Usually, these types of deals come on rookie contracts or veteran players on one year-deals. But which teams had the most overvalued and undervalued offensive line groups during the 2022-2023 season?
In a recent study done by EmpireStakes.com – your source for New York sports betting – we used the resources at Pro-Football-Reference.com to find the total number of sacks allowed by a team. The team with the least sacks allowed was awarded 32 points down to 1 point for the team with the most sacks allowed.
Then, we collected the approximate value of each offensive line unit (only 10 offensive line members with most games played), again via Pro-Football-Reference.com. After that, the top team was awarded 32 points with the most approximate value to 1 point for least approximate value.
Once getting the total points for each team, the cap hit for the offensive lines for each from last year was divided by the top 10 offensive linemen from every squad. From there, they were then given the amount of salary paid per points given to arrive at our NFL offensive line units ranked 1st to 32nd based on value.
Most Overvalued NFL Offensive Lines
In analysis you won’t find at the various New York sports betting apps, here is a look at the 10 most undervalued offensive lines from the 2022-20-23 season.
Closer Look at Jets, Giants, Bills
The Jets had one of the most expensive offensive lines in the NFL last season, but it wound up being one of their biggest weaknesses. Some of it wasn’t their fault as Duane Brown, Mekhi Becton, and Alijah Vera-Tucker all missed a significant amount of time with injuries. They also lost fourth-round pick Max Mitchell to an injury. At one point, they were without their top four offensive tackles.
So, it’s not surprising to see them rank low on this list. They finished as PFF’s No. 31 ranked offensive line in the league despite having a high cap hit. That should change in 2023 with better health this season.
Of course, the line better be there since the Jets have invested so much in Aaron Rodgers, Recently, EmpireStakes.com looked at how Hall of Fames QBs fare in first seasons with new teams.
The Giants were another team that did not grade out well in this study, coming in at No. 24 in money per point total. The Giants have two top 10 picks at offensive tackle (Andrew Thomas, Evan Neal) and both had fairly big cap numbers in 2022. Thomas was among the best offensive tackles in the league and was rewarded last week with a record-setting five-year, $117.5 million extension. Neal struggled in his rookie season.
Despite Thomas having a fantastic season, the Giants still had one of the worst offensive lines in the league. According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants had the third-worst line in the NFL. They are hoping that Neal can make a leap forward in 2023 and that they can better play from right guard Mark Glowinski. Otherwise, this is one of the most overvalued offensive lines in the NFL and that will have to be considered in New York NFL betting.
The one team in New York that did have some good returns on the offensive line were the Buffalo Bills. They finished at No. 4 on the undervalued list with a $ per point amount of $506,275. According to Pro Football Focus, the Bills’ offensive line finished at No. 23, but this was still one of the cheaper units in the league. The Bills need their offensive line to play better, but it isn’t like they are paying the unit a whole lot either. If Buffalo can get average play from this group in 2023, it would be a massive value for the Bills moving forward.
