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UPGRADES

LA Chargers up five slots.

The Chargers' offensive line has been mauling defenses of late and has been rewarded with a cohesion upgrade. The line has been getting great push off the ball and the rushing attack averaged over seven yards a carry last week on the road at Seattle. Center Mike Pouncey is in Pro Bowl form while left tackle Russell Okung has been playing up to his captain patch. Left guard Dan Feeney has solidified his play after a shaky start to the season. At right tackle, Sam Tevi continues to split reps with Joe Barksdale but Tevi enjoys a 2:1 advantage in snaps over the last two weeks. Most teams don't have two starting caliber right tackles on the roster, whoever ends up taking the snaps. This line is trending upward and they now grade among the top third of the league's lines.

New England up 12 slots.

Right tackle Marcus Cannon started the game and played all the snaps in the home win versus Green Bay. Cannon had missed two games with a concussion. Right guard Shaq Mason missed the game but was a full participant in Wednesday's practice and looks to be on track to start this week on the road against Tennessee. Having the right side back intact is good news for the rushing attack, as Mason and Cannon together combine to move the pile. One player to watch, left tackle Trenton Brown, missed Wednesday's practice with an illness. But assuming Brown plays, this unit grades as a solid mid-tier unit in the latest rankings.

Cincinnati up nine slots.

Good news for the entire offense as the team's first-round rookie center Billy Price was a full participant in practice this week. Price had missed the last six games with a foot injury and his return allows Trey Hopkins to return to right guard. Alex Redmond had been starting there, but he appears likely to miss this week's contest with a hamstring injury. Left guard Clint Boling had a scare to his back last time out but the injury was only spasms and he is expected to play this week when the team hosts the New Orleans Saints. Assuming both Price and Boling are ready to go, this line grades about average compared to the rest of the league.

Minnesota up ten slots.

After missing three games with a foot injury, left tackle Riley Reiff started last week's home win against Detroit. Reiff was a critical part of the Vikings' rushing attack, as he threw a key block on Dalvin Cook's 70-yard touchdown run. Left guard Danny Isidora is not as accomplished a pass protector as the injured Tom Compton, but he is more effective as a run blocker. Center Pat Elflein is dominating at the pivot and could be in line for an individual grade upgrade. Second round rookie Brian O'Neill appears to have supplanted Rashod Hill as the new starter at right tackle going forward. This is good news for a team with playoff hopes to have the draft pick with upside playing (O'Neill) and also retain depth with starting experience (Hill). Their recent struggles hopefully behind them, this line once again grades as a solid option,

DOWNGRADES

Pittsburgh down one slot.

Veteran right tackle Marcus Gilbert missed the game against Baltimore with a knee injury and he has not practiced this week. Gilbert is officially questionable but these rankings assume he misses the Thursday Night game. Matt Feiler made his fourth career start (third at right tackle) and the former Bloomsburg grad conducted himself well. Feiler has been a project of offensive line coach Mike Munchak, and his starting experience at the spot this season results in only a half point deduction in cohesion. The Steelers' line is an elite unit and a case could be made they are actually number one with Gilbert healthy. It is not clear he will be this week.

Tennessee down one slot.

Right tackle Jack Conklin was forced from the win at Dallas with a concussion and he has not practiced this week. Dennis Kelly replaced Conklin in the game, and Kelly played well. While Kelly is not an elite athlete, he has started 23 games in his pro career, most of them at right tackle. Besides the head injury, Conklin has had a long layoff after offseason leg surgery and could be still working his way into football shape. The Titans' line retains a good (but not great) grade in the latest rankings.

Dallas down three slots.

Despite playing every snap in the game against Tennessee, rookie left guard Connor Williams underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Wednesday and he is considered week-to-week. Backups Xavier S'ua-Filo and Adam Redmond are battling for the starting job at Philadelphia on Sunday Night Football. Redmond is considered a center by the coaches, so the team would swing Joe Looney out to left guard in the scenario where Redmond gets the nod. This line continues to slowly trend downward as the season goes on but as long as the tackles remain healthy, they will be an above average option.

Detroit down seven slots.

Right guard T.J. Lang was forced from the game against Minnesota with a neck injury and was replaced by Kenny Wiggins. Wiggins played 56% of the offensive snaps and is expected to get another start, which would be his third of the season in place of Lang. Even after watching the film, it's not clear all ten sacks recorded during the loss can be placed on the loss of Lang, or even on the line as a group. But still, this unit had a bad game and are showing troubling signs of weakness. At one point left tackle Taylor Decker was forced from the game against Minnesota but he only missed 6 snaps and is not listed on the injury report for this week. Still, the Lions' line falls in the latest rankings to 19th overall.

NY Jets down four slots.

Starting center Spencer Long exited during the fourth quarter of the loss at Miami with a dislocated finger. Long has been playing with this issue for several weeks but his shotgun snaps were erratic and were a contributing factor toward quarterback Sam Darnold's 4 interception performance during the game. Long is not practicing this week. Jonotthan Harrison replaced Long during the game and Harrison seems likely to get the start this week at Buffalo. Despite the heat Long has taken from fans and local media, Long is a much stronger blocker and this line falls to below average with Harrison in the lineup.

Baltimore down two slots.

Left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who had been battling an ankle injury since Week 8, could not make the start last week against Pittsburgh. Jermaine Elumunor started in his place and the offense had some shaky moments in pass protection. The team has a bye week to get Stanley (and right tackle James Hurst) healthy and their ranking will be revisited next week.

Washington down 28 slots.

Left tackle Trent Williams missed the home loss against Atlanta with a thumb injury and has been ruled out for the game this week against Tampa Bay. Ty Nsekhe replaced Williams and he's one of the better swing tackles. However during the game both starting guards Shawn Lauvao and Brandon Scherff suffered serious injuries which landed them on injured reserve, out for the season. Right tackle Morgan Moses was briefly forced from the game, giving way to rookie Geron Christian. The team signed three players this week, right tackle Austin Howard, guards Luke Bowanko and Jon Cooper and one of the three will probably have to start. This line takes a huge drop and is the lowest grade in the latest ranks.

OTHER NEWS

CAR - C Ryan Kalil a game-time decision. Kalil has not practiced this week prior to the Thursday Night game at Pittsburgh. If he cannot go, Tyler Larsen would likely get the start at center and the line would fall from 18th to 22nd in the rankings.

CHI - RG Eric Kush is OK. Kush was forced from the game at Buffalo with a neck injury but is not listed on this week's injury report.

CLE - Various injuries. LT Desmond Harrison missed last week's game against Kansas City with an illness and Greg Robinson got the start. Center J.C. Tretter played against this Chiefs but missed Wednesday's practice with an ankle injury and is questionable. The rankings assume both will play.

DEN - C Matt Paradis to IR. Paradis fractured his right leg and is out for the rest of the 2018 season. Right guard Connor McGovern shifted to center, and Elijah Wilkinson saw at the game out at McGovern's right guard spot. The team is on bye and will use it to figure out whether Wilkinson or Billy Turner will start at right guard.

GB - RT Bryan Bulaga has a knee injury. Bulaga was forced from the Sunday Night game against New England with a knee injury. Bulaga was limited in Wednesday's practice. He was replaced by Jason Spriggs.

KC - RG Cameron Erving is ill. Erving missed Wednesday's practice with Illness but he is expected to play.

MIA - Various injuries. RT JaWuan James (knee), LG Ted Larsen (neck) and LT Laremy Tunsil were all limited in practice.

OAK - LT Kolton Miller has knee and elbow injuries. Kolton Miller exited the game but is expected to play.

SEA - RG DJ Fluker missed practice with a calf injury. Fluker was also forced from the game against the Chargers but he appears to be playing through the injury. Interesting fact, both Fluker and starting left guard J.R. Sweezy recorded personal foul after the whistle unnecessary roughness penalties last week.

TB - RT Demar Dotson missed practice. Dotson has both knee and shoulder injuries but played 100% of the snaps last week at Cincinnati.

FULL RANKINGS

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