Way-too-early rankings of SEC offensive lines leading up to the 2024 season
5. Alabama
It's really difficult to pick out the specific pecking order among the top five best starting offensive lines here. The SEC easily has the best offensive line units among the projected aggregate groups of any power conference in college football in 2024.
PFF's top four best projected offensive line units in college football for 2024 were all from the SEC. And six out of the top 10 best offensive lines for the 2024 season were SEC.
Starting off the top five list of the best offensive line units in the SEC in this particular ranking is the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Alabama line was solid last year in pass pro, but lacked a little bit in run blocking and moving bodies off the line of scrimmage in the tighter areas of the field.
Not only did the Tide rank among the bottom three teams in yards before contact last season, but it also ranked in the bottom five in third-down line yards. It was the first time in the last decade that a Nick Saban-coached team ranked in the bottom five in the SEC in each category for run blocking proficiency.
New head coach Kalen DeBoer gets three out of five starters back from last year's Alabama OL. The best of Alabama's projected starting OL is along the interior, with all three guys being potential future Day 1 or Day 2 NFL Draft picks like Tyler Booker and Parker Brailsford.
4. Mizzou
Mizzou had its best season yet under head coach Eli Drinkwitz, winning 11 games for the first time in nearly a decade (since 2014). The Tigers were incredibly proficient along the offensive line, ranking fourth in the SEC in 2023 in yards before contact and third in pass-blocking efficiency.
Returning starters at guard, tackle, and center including Connor Tollison, Armand Membou, and Cam'Ron Johnson all ranked among the top half of the highest-graded linemen at their positions in the SEC.
If the offensive line holds up as it did last season, which we have every reason to believe it will given all the returning and proven experience, Mizzou shouldn't miss a step on offense in the trenches this season.
3. Georgia
Highlighted by returning starting IOLs Tate Ratledge and Dylan Fairchild, Georgia easily has one of the best offensive lines in the country in 2024. Ratledge and Fairchild were the two highest-graded pass blockers in the SEC last season.
Georgia and Alabama could easily have the two best interior offensive lines in the nation in 2024. The Dawgs also have a likely future NFL Draft pick in starting left tackle Earnest Greene III.
There's no reason to doubt that Georgia's ability to dominate the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball and give plenty of time in the pocket for Heisman contender quarterback Carson Beck to pick apart opposing defenses through the air this fall.