Ranking the 10 Best NFL Offensive Linemen for 2026: Two Broncos Make the List

Though they rarely receive the spotlight, their impact is undeniable. Here are the NFL’s top 10 offensive linemen heading into the 2026 season.

The Broncos have a dominant offensive line. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

2026 player position rankings: Wide receivers | Cornerbacks

Welcome back to Sports Illustrated’s 2026 NFL position rankings, where we’ll stack up the top 10 players across the league at each spot on the field over the coming weeks leading into training camp. We continue with offensive linemen.

Long considered the most underappreciated position in football, the offensive line finally got itself some much-earned recognition last season with the inclusion of the Protector of the Year award at the NFL Honors. Created by Bills tackle Dion Dawkins, who said he “won’t stop fighting to give offensive linemen the respect and recognition we deserve,” the winner is decided by a panel of retired offensive linemen based on skill, impact, leadership, durability and strength of opponents. 

While they don’t fill up the traditional stat sheet, linemen are the true foundation of a successful offense. Lining up across from the league’s most physically dominant defenders on every snap, their job is to set the tone in the trenches in order to create lanes for running backs and keep the quarterback upright in the pocket. Their work often determines whether a team ultimately reaches its potential, as the NFL’s top contenders tend to also bolster the league’s best offensive lines.

With that, and in the spirit of giving the position further recognition, we’ve ranked the top 10 offensive linemen in the NFL heading into the 2026 season. Rankings were determined by a vote between Eva Geitheim, Mike Kadlick and Karl Rasmussen.

10. Darnell Wright, Chicago Bears

Bears OT Darnell Wright earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2025. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Selected with the No. 10 pick in the 2023 draft, Wright has started 49 games across his first three seasons with the Bears, earning PFWA All-Rookie Team honors in Year 1 before being named a second-team All-Pro in 2025. 

Wright’s leap forward last season helped the Bears average 144.5 rushing yards per game—the third-most in the NFL behind only the Bills and Ravens—and saw him notch the sixth-highest run-block grade (85.6) among 89 qualifying tackles according to PFF. He also anchored an offensive line that allowed quarterback Caleb Williams to be sacked just 24 times, the third-fewest among quarterbacks who started all 17 games. – Mike Kadlick

9. Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons

Chris Lindstrom has earned second-team All-Pro honors in four consecutive seasons. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lindstrom has spent his entire career with the Falcons, and he’s developed into one of the league’s premier interior offensive linemen since being drafted in 2019. The star guard has made the Pro Bowl four years running, and has also been a second-team All-Pro in each of those four seasons. 

Lindstrom is one of the top run blockers in the league, helping to make life easy for star running back Bijan Robinson by creating lanes for him to burst through. PFF ranked Lindstrom as the No. 2 guard in the league last year and his 91.7 run-block grade was second in the NFL among offensive guards. – Karl Rasmussen

8. Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers’ offense was not the same when Tristan Wirfs missed time with injury last season. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Wirfs is an exceptional athlete, and his technique on the offensive line makes him a matchup nightmare for opposing edge rushers. He has been a Pro Bowler in five of his first six NFL seasons and has made two All-Pro first teams in that span. After starting his career at right tackle, Wirfs transitioned to the left side of the offensive line, and is now the blindside protector for Baker Mayfield. 

He’s elite in both run blocking and pass protection, earning top-five grades in both categories from PFF. He ranked third among offensive tackles in pass-block win rate at 96%, winning the battle in the trenches during pass plays 255 out of 267 times. – K.R.

7. Quinn Meinerz, Denver Broncos

Quinn Meinerz ascended from DIII guard to first-team All-Pro | USA TODAY Sports

Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz has had a remarkable journey from Division III UW-Whitewater to becoming one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. A third-round pick in 2021, Meinerz was the highest-drafted player in program history. He has since become a two-time first-team All-Pro for arguably the best offensive line in the NFL. 

In 2025, Meinerz and the Broncos’ offensive line allowed just 23 sacks, tied with the Rams for the fewest in the NFL. He finished seventh among interior offensive linemen in run-block win rate, and was PFF’s highest-graded guard. – Eva Geitheim

6. Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos

Garett Bolles is one of the best left tackles in football. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bolles has been the epitome of consistency since being selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 2017 draft, starting 133 games across his first nine NFL seasons while playing in fewer than 14 only once. His steady play (and availability) earned him a massive four-year, $82 million contract extension midway through the 2024 season—a favor he returned by turning in his best campaign yet in ’25. 

While helping Denver to a 14–3 record and the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, Bolles finished last season with a 90.8 pass-block grade (first in the NFL) according to PFF, and didn’t allow a single sack of quarterback Bo Nix. The 34-year-old earned first-team All-Pro honors for his efforts and was elected to his first career Pro Bowl. – M.K.

5. Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts

Quenton Nelson has been a top offensive lineman since his rookie season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nelson immediately burst onto the scene as one of the NFL’s top interior linemen after the Colts drafted him in 2018, earning All-Pro honors as a rookie. He’s since added two more All-Pro nods to his résumé and has also been named a Pro Bowler in each of his first eight seasons.

While Indianapolis finished 2025 with seven consecutive losses, it was hardly Nelson’s fault. The 30-year-old started all 17 games and allowed just 15 pressures, two quarterback hits and two sacks while committing only two penalties. He also registered the fourth-highest PFF grade in the NFL (84.7) and helped the Colts’ offense finish seventh in yards per game (345.6) and eighth in points per game (27.4). – M.K.

4. Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers

Trent Williams remains one of the league’s best tackles at 37. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At 37, Trent Williams is heading toward the tail end of his career, but he remains a top offensive lineman in the league. This past season, he finished sixth among offensive tackles in run-block win rate and still ranked in the top 20 in pass-block win rate for a 49ers team that advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs. 

Williams has earned first-team All-Pro honors three times in his career and is coming off second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2025. While Pro Bowls aren’t always emblematic of a player’s success, no active player has been selected to the Pro Bowl more than Williams’ 12 times in his career. Every other player with 12 or more Pro Bowl selections is either Tom Brady or in the Hall of Fame. – E.G.

3. Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs

Creed Humphrey has been a pillar of the Chiefs’ offensive line. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Chiefs center Creed Humphrey has set the standard for center play over the past five years. A second-round pick in 2021, Humphrey has been a foundational piece of an offensive line that has made three Super Bowls and won two since he arrived in Kansas City. 

Humphrey is coming off his second consecutive first-team All-Pro season and finished the year as PFF’s highest-graded center. He ranked first in 2025 in pass-block win rate, and allowed just one sack in pass protection. In 2026, he will look to help keep Patrick Mahomes upright, as the star QB returns from a torn ACL, and block for the team’s prized free-agent addition, running back Kenneth Walker III.  – E.G.

2. Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions

Penei Sewell is the best offensive tackle in the league. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Sewell has only played five seasons in the NFL, but he’s been an elite offensive lineman since his rookie year in 2021. The former Oregon Duck has made four consecutive Pro Bowls and has been an All-Pro first team selectee at right tackle in each of the past three seasons. In 2025, Sewell was graded as the No. 1 tackle in the NFL by PFF. He’s one of the best run blockers in the business while also providing elite pass protection for Jared Goff. 

Sewell is consistent in the trenches and is rarely beaten on the offensive line. He surrendered two sacks and six pressures across 998 snaps last season, and he was only flagged for two penalties in the entirety of the ’25 campaign. – K.R.

1. Joe Thuney, Chicago Bears

Joe Thuney was the first-ever winner of the Protector of the Year award. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The most accomplished offensive lineman in the NFL, Joe Thuney earned first-team All-Pro honors for the third consecutive season in 2025 while making his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl. 

A third-round pick by the Patriots in 2016, Thuney spent five seasons in New England before leaving for four seasons with the Chiefs. Along the way, Thuney won four Super Bowl titles as he blocked for two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Most recently, he joined the Bears in 2025 and helped them return to the playoffs for the first time in five years.

In Chicago, Thuney was a pivotal part of the Bears’ improvement offensively and along the offensive line. He finished second in pass-block win rate and third in run-block win rate while blocking for an offense that finished third in rushing yards and fourth in EPA per rush (plus-.06). As a result, Thuney was named the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year award winner, a fitting honor for such a successful player.  – E.G.

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