Photo: Imagn Images

UPGRADES

Green Bay up 20

Left tackle David Bakhtiari missed last week's romp over Houston with a chest injury. Bakhtiari was limited in practice but all signs point to the All-Pro starting this week's divisional matchup home against Minnesota. Billy Turner, the usual right tackle, started at left tackle for the first time in four years last week. Turner played well and will return to the right side, sending Rick Wagner to the bench. This Packers' line has unmatched depth and while other teams are getting hurt, they appear to be gaining strength. This line carries a top 3 grade in the current rankings.

Tampa Bay up 3

This is a general cohesion upgrade based on the lack of penalties in the team's recent Week 7 win over Las Vegas. The line and new quarterback Tom Brady finally appear to be on the same page and this signal caller's ability to get the ball out quickly makes their jobs easier. The rookie Tristan Wirfs has been a noticeable upgrade over Demar Dotson. Ryan Jensen is playing at a Pro Bowl level. This is an elite line and has been rewarded with a top 5 grade.

Washington up 5

Prior to their win over Dallas, the Football Team debuted a new lineup. Left tackle Cornelius Lucas took over for Geron Christian and the pass protection was noticeably improved. At left guard, the veteran Wes Schweitzer has taken the job from Wes Martin. Schweitzer and right guard Brandon Scherff have been absolutely mauling in the run game. This team is on their bye week but their recent play has them graded on the cusp of the top-10 when they return in Week 9.

Denver plus 5

Just a small bit of housekeeping: left guard Dalton Risner did start last week versus Kansas City. He played 100% of snaps and relegated Austin Schlottman to the bench. This is still a low-tier line on a sputtering offense but Risner is clearly their best lineman at the moment.

Dallas plus 3

Similarly, right guard Zack Martin looks on track to start this week's Sunday Night Football divisional game at Philadelphia. Martin missed last week's loss to Washington with a concussion. This Cowboys' line has been ravaged by injury, but Martin is an All-Pro and his return should provide some much-needed backbone to the Dallas offense.

DOWNGRADES

New Orleans minus 5

Left tackle Terron Armstead was forced from last week's tight win over Carolina with an elbow injury after 13 snaps. James Hurst entered the game in place of Armstead and was beaten badly by defensive end Brian Burns. Armstead is listed as questionable and has been limited in practice. Still, this player has a history of missing time, and the rankings assume either Hurst or left guard Andrus Peat will take his place against Chicago. Even without their left tackle this still an excellent line.

Las Vegas minus 4

Already without Trent Brown (Covid list), right tackle Sam Young was forced from the Tampa Bay loss with a knee injury. In place of Young, Brandon Parker saw his first 2020 action at right tackle. Young is questionable, but Parker (who started twelve games at right tackle as a rookie in 2018, could get a start this week at Cleveland. In other news, right guard Gabe Jackson was ejected from last week's game after an altercation with defensive end William Gholston. John Simpson played the remainder of Jackson's snaps last week but the starter is still included in the rankings. This line can be elite, once their right tackle situation settles.

Philadelphia minus 10

Right tackle Lane Johnson is dealing with injuries to both his knee and ankle. When asked about Johnson's availability for this Sunday night against Dallas, head coach Doug Pederson said, "if Lane Johnson wants to play, I'm not going to stand in his way." Reading the tea leaves, look for Jordan Mailata to move to right tackle. Left tackle Jason Peters has returned to health and will retake his starting job. Long term, finding Mailata right tackle reps (or perhaps left guard reps for the disastrous Iosua Opeta) would help his development as Andre Dillard still plays a large role in the team's plans. But in the short term, all this experimentation is bad for cohesion.

Buffalo minus 6

Left guard Ike Boettger (a second-year player from Iowa) got his first career start last week for Cody Ford (knee). Ford still is not practicing and Boettiger could get another start. The coaches must feel confident about this player, as they had no problem releasing natural left guard Quinton Spain two weeks ago. Boettger's start was a surprise for an overmatched Jets defense, but this week against New England, look for this player to be game-planned against.

Carolina minus 5

Russell Okung was forced from last week's close loss against New Orleans with a calf injury. Greg Little replaced Okung, and with a short week before Thursday Night Football, look for Little to get another start. In other news, right guard John Miller was a late scratch, and Dennis Daley got the start. Miller appears to be full-go this week and Daley could either work in for left guard Chris Reed or return to the bench. This is a workmanlike group and Little has athletic potential, but the model prefers consistency in the lineup.

NY Giants minus 3

Late on Thursday (just prior to press) left guard Will Hernandez tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the exempt list. The other four starters were placed in quarantine but, pending no further positives, the healthy four could be ready to play this Monday night against Tampa Bay (a similar situation played out last week with right tackle Trent Brown and Las Vegas). In place of Will Hernandez, look for Shane Lemieux (a fifth-round pick from Oregon) to get his first career start. Even though this is a downgrade, Lemieux is rumored to be a violent blocker and fans have been clamoring for him to enter the lineup all season.

Chicago minus 13

Center Cody Whitehair injured his calf last week against the Rams and did not practice this week. Sam Musipher (undrafted rookie from Notre Dame) replaced Whitehair last week and could get his first career start this week against New Orleans. Last week, quarterback Nick Foles was sacked four times. Already without James Daniels, the loss of their best lineman Whitehair drops this line from "solid" to "risky."

Cincinnati minus 7

The Bengals will likely have three new starters this week against Tennessee. Left tackle Jonah Williams has a neck stinger, right tackle Bobby Hart injured his knee, and center Trey Hopkins is in the league's concussion protocol. The lineup against the Titans will likely be Hakeem Adeniji at left tackle, Fred Johnson at right tackle, and Billy Price at center. Johnson is an interesting prospect, more of a guard, but overall this is bad news. Swapping three starters for any team is tough, for this struggling Bengals' line it could be disastrous.

OTHER NEWS

CLE - Center J.C. Tretter was forced from last week's win against Cincinnati with a knee injury, but he quickly returned to the game. Tretter is sitting out practice but should be good for this week's home game against LVR.

JAX - Ben Bartch and Tyler Shaley split snaps 50/50 for right guard starter AJ Cann. Cann is kept in the rankings for now as the team is on a bye week.

KCC - Center Austin Reiter was demoted after returning from injury. Daniel Kilgore appears to be the starter going forward. This line will remain in the bottom half of the rankings until right tackle Mitchell Schwartz (back) returns to action.

LAC - Right tackle Bryan Bulaga and right guard Trai Turner are both considered game-time decisions for this week at Denver. As neither has played much this season, they are not included in the rankings.

NEP - Left guard Joe Thuney's ankle "rolled up" during a quarterback scramble and he had to leave the game. Thuney's injury is considered low-ankle and he could be ready for Buffalo. He is included in the rankings.

NYJ - Replacement left guard Josh Andrews was terrible against Buffalo. Starting left guard Alex Lewis returned to practice in a limited fashion but as he is dealing with multiple issues on the same shoulder, Lewis is kept from the ranks. This line has rushing attack upside if Lewis and left tackle Mekhi Becton get healthy at the same time.

PIT - Alejandro Villanueva played 100% of snaps against Tennessee but rested Wednesday with an elbow injury. He is still included in the ranks.

SEA - Mike Iupati (neck) did not play on Sunday Night Football and is still out this week. Look for Jordan Simmons to get another start.

TEN - Ty Sambrailo (replacing Taylor Lewan) was somewhat decent vs Pittsburgh. The rushing attack doesn't have the same fire but the line was able to protect quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

FULL RANKINGS