Offensive Line Rankings: Breaking down the NFL's best/worst protection units

Get ready for your season with theScore's 2017 Fantasy Football Draft Kit

Fantasy football might be powered by skill-position stars, but offensive lines are the driving force that set most week-winning performances in motion.

As you prepare for your drafts, it's crucial to consider how lines have changed heading into the new season and how those changes impact the players they're blocking for.

Below, we rank all 32 offensive lines, taking into account past performance, offseason upgrades, overall depth, and the very underrated element of continuity.

Offensive Line Rankings
32-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

32. Seattle Seahawks

Depth: Ethan Pocic, Rees Odhiambo, Oday Aboushi, Justin Senior, Joey Hunt

The Seahawks continue to ignore the offensive line. What else is new? Russell Wilson and Seattle's crop of running backs will once again be put at a disadvantage this season because of this underwhelming group.

31. New York Jets

Depth: Dakota Dozier, Brandon Shell, Jonotthan Harrison, Craig Watts, Brent Qvale

There's little to get excited about on the Jets' roster this season, and their offensive line is no different. With their Vegas win total set at 4.5 games, the Jets will be trailing most weeks, which means opposing pass rushers will be teeing off. Bilal Powell's work as a receiver out of the backfield should salvage his value, because there won't be many holes opened up behind this group.

30. San Francisco 49ers

Depth: Daniel Kilgore, Garry Gilliam, Brandon Fusco, Tim Barnes, John Theus

Let's see if the vaunted Shanahan zone running game can help San Francisco overcome the talent shortage up front. Aside from a steady veteran in Staley, the 49ers' offensive line is question marks across the board.

29. Cincinnati Bengals

Depth: Eric Winston, Christian Westerman, J.J. Dielman, T.J. Johnson, Alex Redmond

Free agency destroyed the Bengals' line this year, with left tackle Andrew Whitworth and right guard Kevin Zeitler signing elsewhere. Andy Dalton fared well when he had a top-five line protecting him, but with his blockers now among the league's worst, there's reason to be concerned about the upside of the entire offense.

28. New York Giants

Depth: DJ Fluker, Brett Jones, Jon Halapio, Adam Gettis, Adam Bisnowaty

There's plenty of reason to be excited about the Giants' skill-position talent, both from a fantasy and on-field perspective, but the offensive line situation remains a pressing concern. Might the offense's run and pass upside be limited as a result?

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Depth: Evan Smith, Joe Hawley, Caleb Benenoch, Leonard Wester

Outside of Marpet and Dotson, the Bucs lack quality talent up front. Sweezy is a veteran presence who could help after missing all of last season due to injury, but the left side of the line remains a problem. Tampa Bay loaded up on weapons for Jameis Winston, but they may regret not shoring up their line.

26. Houston Texans

Depth: Breno Giacomini, Julie'n Davenport, Greg Mancz, David Quessenberry, Kyle Fuller

Brown has long been a top-tier player at left tackle, and he should continue as such without an injury impacting his season preparation like last year. Outside of Brown, this line will struggle to perform at the level it has in past seasons. Martin winning the starting center job after a lost rookie year would be an important boost.

25. Miami Dolphins

Depth: Ted Larsen, Kraig Urbik, Anthony Steen, Sam Young

When his blockers were all healthy, Jay Ajayi and Dolphins' run game were dominant. The return of Pouncey to anchor the line will be a major boost, but the ultimate success of this unit will depend on the development of Tunsil, who is taking over for Branden Albert at left tackle. The addition of one of the league's best blocking tight ends, Anthony Fasano, should help Ajayi as well.

24. Los Angeles Rams

Depth: Andrew Donnall, Austin Blythe, Cody Wichmann, Darrell Williams

Scooping up Whitworth in free agency is a monumental upgrade over former first-round bust Greg Robinson. The rest of the group may not be spectacular, but it's still more than enough to give Todd Gurley a chance. The idea that the offensive line was to blame for his sophomore flop was always overblown, anyway.

23. Minnesota Vikings

Depth: T.J. Clemmings, Nick Easton, Willie Beavers, Reid Fragel, Danny Isidora

Poor offensive line play led to the downfall of the 2016 Vikings, in part due to a wave of injuries that decimated the starters. Minnesota attempted to rectify this by signing Reiff and Remmers, and drafting Elflein, but it will take time for them to settle in with their new crew. Rookie Dalvin Cook was a star behind a poor line at Florida State and he may need to overcome subpar blocking once again.

22. Indianapolis Colts

Depth: Denzelle Good, Zach Banner, Brian Schwenke, Jeremy Vujnovich

Andrew Luck has taken far too much punishment while the Colts' front office failed time and again to get him the protection he needed and deserved. Keeping Luck healthy will be of the utmost importance when he returns from offseason shoulder surgery and the left side of the line is more than capable of holding up their end of that bargain. Unfortunately, the right side remains a work in progress.

21. Arizona Cardinals

Depth: Will Holden, Evan Boehm, Tony Bergstrom, John Wetzel, Cole Toner

Veldheer being moved to the right side likely isn't a great sign for his future in Arizona, but he and Humphries should continue to provide a solid tandem on the outside for the time being. Johnson is also an intriguing rookie to pair with Iupati at guard.

Offensive Line Rankings
32-21 | 20-11 | 10-1