The new league year is nearly upon us, which means the start of NFL free agency for the 2026 season is close at hand. Teams are hard at work building out their plans for their own players, while keeping a close eye on the available free agents heading into the 2026 offseason.
Today we’re going to take a look at the projected free agent offensive linemen in the 2026 class, as I give my best guess at how these players are likely to be ranked by NFL teams.
C Tyler Linderbaum, Baltimore Ravens
2025 stats: 17 games plays (17 starts), 26 pressures allowed, 2 sacks allowed
Linderbaum is far and away the best offensive lineman who could be made available this offseason if the Ravens are not able to sign him to a new contract. The former first-round pick out of Iowa in 2023 has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons and was the league’s fifth-ranked center during the 2025 season.
It will be hard to believe if Linderbaum does make it to free agency, but the franchise going through a change in head coach could very leave all options on the table for how they want to move forward under Jesse Minter.
Could the former Chargers DC choose to invest into the defense more, essentially preffering to give other side of the ball more resources over making Linderbaum the league’s highest-paid center?
OT Rasheed Walker, Green Bay Packers
2025 stats: 17 games played (16 starts), 40 pressures allowed, 5 sacks allowed
Walker has been a solid offensive tackle for quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers since entering the league in 2023. He’s been a much better pass protector than run blocker, however, grading out with a 70.0 in pass block grade this past season versus a 55.4 run block grade.
In fact, in all three seasons, Walker has finished with a pass block grade of 70.0 or above each year while also earning a run block grade below 58.0. You’d think that imbalance would hurt his stock this free agency, but in a league where protecting your quarterback is of the utmost importance, Walker will have plenty of suitors for teams who were unable to do that well enough in 2025.
At just 25 years old, Walker very well could have his best football in front of him and will likely be under 30 by the time his next contract comes up. That will entice teams quite a bit, as well.
OT Braden Smith, Indianapolis Colts
2025 stats: 13 games played (13 starts), 26 pressures allowed, 1 sack allowed
Similar to Walker above, Smith has been best as a protector throughout his career while still being more than serviceable as a run blocker. The former second-round pick is coming off a season where he earned a 71.9 pass block grade and a 58.0 in run blocking. Those numbers are seemingly better than Walker’s, but Smith is also four years older at 29.
If the Colts choose to move on from Smith this offseason, there will be a handful of tackle-needy teams who will come calling. After how well the offense looked to begin the first half of the year before Daniel Jones went down, Indy may want to run it back as best as possible with the same offensive line Jonathan Taylor ran so well behind this year.
OG David Edwards, Buffalo Bills
2025 stats: 17 games played (16 starts), 32 pressures allowed, 4 sacks allowed
Edwards is one of the most balanced free agents on this list as far as being equally solid in both run and pass blocking. His overall 2025 season grade of 71.4 by PFF ranked 19th among 81 qualifying guards. The 73.0 pass block grade he posted was good for 14th while his 69.0 in run block ranked 23rd.
C Connor McGovern, Buffalo Bills
2025 stats: 16 games played (16 starts), 18 pressures allowed, 0 sacks allowed
McGovern is coming off his best season as a pro where he went nearly an entire regular season without letting up a sack on star quarterback Josh Allen. That level of protection earned McGovern a 73.4 pass block grade by PFF which ranked sixth in the NFL this year.
While Linderbaum is far and away the top center on the market this year, McGovern will still be a very strong addition to any team to miss out on the former.
C Cade Mays, Carolina Panthers
2025 stats: 14 games played (12 starts), 13 pressures allowed, 0 sacks allowed
Is Mays the next up-and-coming young star at the center position in the NFL?
Over his past 22 games as the team’s starting center, Mays has allowed just 21 pressures and ZERO sacks on his quarterback. No matter how small you deem that sample size across two seasons, those are still very impressive numbers.
Linderbaum and McGovern may rank above Mays here on this list, but don’t be surprised if Mays ends up being the best bang-for-your-buck signing at center this offseason.
OG Isaac Seumalo, Pittsburgh Steelers
2025 stats: 14 games played (14 starts), 20 pressures allowed, 4 sacks allowed
Even at 32 years old, Seumalo is still playing as good of football as he has in his entire career. He’s allowed just six sacks over the past three seasons and his 12 pressures allowed in 2025 were the lowest of his career when he’s played at least 500 snaps.
Per PFF, Seumalo also hasn’t finished with a grade below 60.0 in either run block or pass block since the 2020 season. That’s very, very solid as most lineman are usually notably worse in one aspect over the other, but this veteran is as steady as they come. He’s another on this list that I think could be a sneaky good signing for a team.
OG Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns
2025 stats: 17 games played (17 starts), 31 pressures allowed, 2 sacks allowed
Bitonio was once near the gold standard of offensive guards in the NFL. After earning season grades from PFF of 85.0 or above from 2020-2022, Bitonio then fell below 68.0 in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. This past year, he found some success again as he improved both his run and pass block grades to the best they’ve been since the ‘22 campaign. He still allowed over 30 pressures, but his pair of sacks were also his lowest since ‘22.
OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, New York Jets
2025 stats: Injured (missed entire season)
Vera-Tucker will turn 27 later this summer and is coming off a season-ending injury. If not for the latter fact, he’d be higher on this list with his age still low and his potential still intact. The 2024 season was Vera-Tucker’s best from a PFF grade standpoint as he finished with a run and pass block grade of 76.3 and 74.5, respectively. AVT had always been a solid run blocker, but 2024 was his first season where his pass block grade finished above 61.4. That’s a major leap in progression.
OG Wyatt Teller, Cleveland Browns
2025 stats: 13 games played (13 starts), 24 pressures allowed, 3 sacks allowed
Similar to his Browns teammate, Teller was at his best around the 2020 and 2021 seasons. His 2020 overall grade of 92.2 has been his peak and the 84.9 in 2021 has been his best ever since. From 2022 on, Teller has not had an overall grade better than 72.8. His 62.2 overall mark in 2025 was his worst since 2019 when he posted a career-low 56.7.
Still, if you look at the stat sheet alone, his 24 pressures allowed were the same he allowed in that elite 2020 season and his four penalties were the second-lowest of his career. Still, his 2025 pass block grade of 53.1 is by far the worst he has on record.
Maybe being a member of the Browns has weighed on him and a fresh start is exactly what he needs.
