NFC North OL Rankings for 2025
It’s time to round out my NFC North positional rankings on the offensive side of the ball. We have had the divisional rankings at QB, RB, WR, and TE, and now it’s time for the NFC North OL rankings for 2025.
VikingsTerritory gives their NFC North OL rankings for the 2025 season.
Rather than dividing the offensive line into three separate positions — tackle, guard, and center — I am ranking the units as a whole. As Vikings fans are only too aware, it doesn’t matter how good your tackles are if the interior is terrible, or vice versa. In a division that is expected to be strong, this is another area full of talent at all the positions, with a particular wealth of talent at the tackle position.
1. Detroit Lions
Taylor Decker, Christian Mahogany, Tate Ratledge, Graham Glasgow, Penei Sewell
It has been the foundation on which Detroit’s success has been built and the path for any team to become a top-level team. A dominant OL that is strong at every position. There are a couple of changes to the lineup this season after the surprise retirement of Frank Ragnow at just 29 on the back of a third All-Pro season.
Second-round rookie Tate Ratledge looks set to take on the role of center. Kevin Zietler has moved to Tennessee, with the 35-year-old replaced by Christian Mahogany at left guard. Mahogany performed well when he had to fill in last season, and the Lions appear confident that he is ready for an increased role.
Veteran guard Graham Glasgow completes the Lions’ interior. Detroit is very strong on the edge with Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker. Not many duos in the league can claim to be on their level, with Sewell the star of the show. As a unit, they’ve stood out in recent seasons, dominating both the passing and running games.
The loss of two talented veterans to be replaced by two inexperienced players does raise question marks, but for now, I still give Detroit the edge as the best unit in the division.
2. Chicago Bears
Braxton Jones, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, Darnell Wright
Ben Johnson made his name as an offensive coordinator in Detroit with a top-tier OL. So, it should come as no surprise that upon becoming head coach in Chicago, the Bears immediately moved to strengthen the offensive line. They traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson while spending big money on Drew Dalman to be their new center.
Adding these to a couple of good tackles in Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright means poor OL play can no longer be an excuse for offensive shortcomings in Chicago.
Johnson’s offense should be boosted by solid play across the line in his first season as a head coach. Thuney is a particularly impressive signing on the back of first-team All-Pro recognition in both of the last two seasons, while Dalman was the best center on the free agent market this year.
The Bears’ linemen are all proven commodities, which is why I put them in at number two on this list.
3. Minnesota Vikings
Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Brian O’Neill
I’m excited by what the Vikings have done with their OL this offseason. The potential is there to climb as high as first place, but a couple of players still have things to prove before we can make that claim. Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are a top-tier tackle duo. One of the significant factors stopping Darrisaw from claiming to be the best tackle in the league has been his health.
There has been an injury every season, with last season’s major knee injury the worst so far. Brian O’Neill is a very dependable veteran right tackle.
Minnesota completely revamped its IOL this offseason, starting with veteran center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries. Both arrived through free agency via Indianapolis. Fries’ performance to start last season was at an elite level, but was cut short after five games due to injury. Having not reached that level before, the sample size in which he has demonstrated that ability is small.
Minnesota rounded out its IOL revamp by drafting Donovan Jackson in the first round. If he lives up to that billing, the Vikings will be set to have one of the best lines in the league – he has to show he can do it before we make that claim.
4. Green Bay Packers
Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom
Zach Tom is emerging as a star at right tackle for Green Bay and is comfortably their best lineman. Entering his fourth season, the 26-year-old is a fast riser in the conversation for the league’s best tackles. The rest of the OL is solid but nowhere near the level of Tom, which is why they land in last place on this list. Rasheed Walker also enters his fourth season, and while the left tackle has done ok, he certainly hasn’t matched Tom’s rise.
On the interior, Sean Rhyan also enters his fourth season, while Elgton Jenkins and new free agent signing Aaron Banks offer a bit more experience. Jenkins has been a fixture on Green Bay’s OL over the last six seasons, playing in multiple positions.
The two-time Pro Bowler is their best interior lineman. The Packers don’t have a huge glaring weakness, but with Tom’s quality not matched across the rest of the line, they are lagging behind the rest of the division in this crucial area.
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