While fantasy football players are mostly concerned with what’s going down at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions, it’s the offensive line that allows for the Jonathan Taylor’s of the world to rack up all that yardage. It also allows for gunslingers like Justin Herbert to throw for all those touchdowns. Just ask the Chargers QB1 how he felt about upper management’s decision to select Rashawn Slater with the No. 13 pick in last year’s draft! He was one of five offensive linemen that were drafted in the first round of last year’s draft, and nearly all of them made impacts in their rookie campaigns. The O-Line is basically the straw that stirs the drink, and the 2022 NFL Draft is chock full of hogs expected to be selected over the course of the first 32 selections. The number to beat currently clocks in at 7.5 at online sportsbooks with the over offering up an even money return. Let’s take a deep dive into the options and see whether it’s the over or under that offers up value on the total offensive linemen drafted in the first round prop.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Total Offensive Linemen Drafted in 1st Round
Over 7.5 +100
Under 7.5 -130
At first, it was Evan Neal that was expected to be the first hog taken off the board. Bred at ''O-Line U'' in Tuscaloosa, Neal is an imposing force that stands 6’8” tall and weighs better than 3.3 spins. He allowed a grand total of 24 pressures over the last two seasons playing for Nick Saban, and his ability to play both left and right tackle will have whichever team that selects him grinning from ear-to-ear for doing so. He’s a sure-fire first rounder and one of the favorites to be the first O-linemen taken off the board.
Up next is the athletic and enigmatic Ikem Ekwonu. This 6'4 and 300+ pound specimen is a road grater when it comes to opening holes in the running game. The former NC State tackle has darted up the draft board over the last few months. Because of it, it would come as a huge shock if he wasn’t one of the first of the hogs to hear his name called by Roger Goodell. Currently the short odds on favorite to be the first offensive linemen taken off the board, Ekwonu will allow us to have at least two hogs under the belt before the first hour of the draft expires.
Another no-brainer is expected to be Mississippi State’s Charles Cross. Currently expected to be the third O-linemen off the board, Cross really took his game to the next level in his sophomore campaign by dramatically improving his pass protection. After allowing pressures on 7.6 percent of his snaps in 2020, he lowered it to just over two percent of snaps a season ago. Because of it, he enters the draft as the primary dark horse to compete with both Neal and Ekwonu as the first hog taken off the board +1000. Arguably the best pass protector of the top three, Cross is currently -500 to go in the first ten picks - that takes us to three!
Mock drafts have anywhere from three to five more offensive linemen being selected over the first 32 selections. Fittingly, this prop has been set at 7.5. The next crop of hogs includes Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann, Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum, Boston College’s Zion Johnson, Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning, and Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green. The kid from Iowa City is a lock to go in the first round in my opinion. Seriously, just take a look at the kid’s mug shot at PFF where he earned a 95.4 overall grade! One of the higher graded tackles in the nation, Raimann is a fantastic story in that he converted from tight end to protect his QB’s blindside and has a real shot of going in the first round. Penning is nothing short of a behemoth that mauled all FCS opposition that stood in his way. The only problem there is that it was FCS opposition. Johnson is another excellent run blocker that will offer up major value to a front wall needy team later in the first round. Same goes for Green who was once a sure-fire top-15 selection but is now considered a borderline first-rounder.
I think each and every one of these players hears their name called in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Improving the offensive line should always be a primary goal of every general manager, and they’ve got an attractive crop of hogs to choose from in this year’s draft. With that, I’ll be hitting the over on the total offensive linemen drafted in the first round prop.
NFL Draft Wager: Over 7.5
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