Photo: USA Today Sports

UPGRADES

NY Jets +5

Former All-Pro center Ryan Kalil emerged from retirement to sign a one-year $8.2 million dollar deal with the New York Jets. Kalil is thirty-four years old and had injury-plagued seasons with Carolina in 2016 (shoulder) and 2017 (neck) but made it through all of the regular-season games in 2018. Kalil retired as his contract ran out with Carolina and multiple sources had the Jets talking to Kalil about a return for at least six-weeks (since new GM Joe Douglas' hire). Some random team history, It should also be noted Kalil and Jon Beason was the other side of the Darrelle Revis draft trade in 2007.

Kalil replaces Jonotthan Harrison. Harrison was being touted by the beat writers as having an outstanding camp and simultaneously everyone agrees Kalil is an upgrade. This news is probably disappointing for Harrison, who has thirty-two games started, mostly for the Colts, but it's possible he can use the extra time to develop under Kalil and new offensive line coach Frank Pollack (formerly of Cincinnati). For those who missed the news, Kelechi Osemele also arrived via trade from Oakland to play left guard, and if both he and fellow former All-Pro Kalil can stay upright, they should be able to create space for free-agent signing Le'Veon Bell. Kelvin Beachum and Brian Winters each played 100% of snaps last season and Tom Compton could provide an alternative to Winters or Brandon Shell, should he falter at right tackle. Overall, this Jets' line is starting to look better, at least on paper, and GPA grading Kalil as a 3.25 (B+ pass block, B run block - not the All-Pro he once was, but a solid starter), they move from a low-tier line to a mid-tier group in the latest full rankings update (see below).

DOWNGRADES

Washington -10

Trent Williams has not been in camp and has demanded a trade. The situation has appeared to have soured beyond reconciliation and it's probably safe to predict Williams will not play for this team again. The line has looked mixed in camp. The good news is right tackle Morgan Moses has shown up in the best physical shape of his career and guard Brandon Scherff is in a contract year. The right side should dominate and teams usually strong side right with the tight end on running plays. Also, Bill Callahan is an excellent offensive line coach. However, center Chase Roullier is dinged up (again) and without Williams, it's been Ereck Flowers (who should be moved to guard, or perhaps Canada) and Geron Christian taking turns getting roasted by the Skins' defensive line in camp. Donald Penn signed yesterday but he hasn't started a game since September of 2018. The Raiders tried to move Penn to right tackle before last season and it did not go well for anyone involved. As a natural left tackle, he has been decent over the course of his career. But (by NFL standards) Penn is hugely advanced in age at 36 years old, and it's not clear he can be relied upon for an entire season.

Williams' current GPA grade in the model is a straight-A: 4.0 based on 3.75 run grade and 4.25 pass protection. The DC beat writers still refer to Trent Williams as the teams' best offensive player. It's possible his physical ailments over the seasons have this grade too high but he's always been a rare athlete. Other teams rumored to be included in trade talks include Houston and Cleveland, and presumably, the idea Washington wants him out of the conference gives his grade the benefit of the doubt (at least for now).

Assuming he is still this level of player, there is no quick way to replace that loss. It will be interesting to see if Callahan can create some magic, maybe with the schemes or shifting the tight end to the left for passing downs (pass-blocking tight end are not included in the offensive line rankings, but they probably should be). But savvy readers (and FBG has the savviest), will see leaving a tight end in to block as an offensive compromise, sending one less target into the secondary to be covered. The word "shuffle" is usually a death knell for an offensive line and until the spots settle this is a downward trending unit. Exactly how far down it trends, remains to be seen. They fall from 9th in the latest rankings to the middle of the pack.

LA Chargers -9

Left tackle Russell Okung is out indefinitely with what the player self-reported to teammates as a pulmonary embolism (heart condition). It was a potentially fatal situation and the team understandably has no time table for his return. He was a key member of last year's group and has been at the facility daily, working to prepare both his potential replacements, either Sam Tevi or Trent Scott. Tevi started at right tackle last season and did a surprisingly good job. Tevi lead the team in left-tackle reps as camp opened but Scott appears to have the job in recent practices. Scott is a bigger player and preseason will tell the tale here. Speculating, the coaches probably want Scott to win the job so Tevi can remain working his craft on the right side. In general, it's better to keep players working at one job than ask for them to flip sides. Some players, for all their athleticism, can't actually make the switch happen (Lane Johnson for example). The Chargers' offensive line takes a small step back without Okung in the lineup but with decent tackles waiting in the wings and former second-round pick Forrest Lamp pressing Michael Schofield for the starting right guard position, this organization has many potential lineup options.

Tennessee -7

The league announced Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan will be suspended for 4 games, for violation of the substance abuse policy. Lewan is appealing, and while there are situations where the B samples have cleared the A samples, it's unlikely his punishment will be reduced. Losing Lewan for any number of games hurts this offense. He's a captain and even though they do have a multiplicity of theoretical depth (see below), they drop from around 20th to around 30th without Lewan. He's that essential to their grade.

Other Titans LT options include:

• Dennis Kelly (who will likely get the call)
• Kevin Pamphile (who started at left tackle last year week 2 a 20-17 win against Houston)
• Tyler Marz (young prospect whom the coaches like and started RT in the same week 2 game as Pamphile)
• Austin Pasztor
• Moving Jack Conklin from RT to LT, start Dennis Kelly at RT. (least likely to flip this player, but it could be done)

However they try to replace him, Lewan is the heart of this power running offense, and they need him back as soon as possible.

OTHER NEWS

New England

Several veteran linemen retired this week: Jared Veldheer, Brian Schwenke, and J.J. Dielman all retired during the first week of camp. None were projected to be starters, therefore this grade is generally unaffected. Veldheer was probably the most valuable as a swing tackle, and his loss does increase the pressure on new left tackle Isaiah Wynn. Could they jump in the Trent Williams' sweepstakes? Stay tuned... The Patriots remain a mid-tier line in the latest grades.

FULL RANKINGS

Generally speaking, the teams with A grades are among the league's best, the teams in the B grades are solid, and the teams in the Cs and Ds are concerning.

If you have a question about a player, team or matchup not specifically talked about in this article, please feel free to contact the author via Twitter.

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