Offensive lineman have long been the unsung heroes in the NFL for the work they do in helping successful offense operate. But on Wednesday, it was announced that the position group will finally be recognized with an end-of-season award given to the best offensive lineman in all of football.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, NFL executive Troy Vincent announced on Wednesday that there will be a new end-of-the-year award for the best offensive lineman promptly named the “Protector of the Year” award, which will be given to recognize best offensive lineman each year.
Previously, offensive lineman were largely valued by casual football fans based strictly on how many All-Pro or Pro Bowl appearances they have, largely because it can be difficult to truly determine how good an offensive lineman is individually.
Some more informed fans can look at Pro Football Focus’s grades for offensive lineman and recognize which players are above average and which aren’t. But still, there is a pretty massive grey area for most football fans out there about the position group.
Now, this new award should allow for the top offensive lineman across the league to further be recognized publicly for their efforts, which is obviously great to see.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.