Which college football programs produce the best offensive linemen talent for NFL teams? In recent years, the mantle of "O-Line-U" has shifted considerably, and with another draft class set to enter the NFL, it's time to re-rank the best offensive lineman factories in college sports.
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Currently, CBSSports.com has 18 offensive line prospects ranked with a third-round grade or better, but only two prospects listed as first-rounders — Alabama tackle Cam Robinson and Wisconsin tackle Ryan Ramczyk. With 13 more prospects considered late first-rounders through late second-rounders, the 2017 NFL Draft figures to see plenty of offensive linemen go early.
Should NFL teams look for talented players from a specific school? You can find a talented offensive lineman from just about any school, but some colleges are clearly better than others at producing quality talent year-in and year-out.
This list aims to show which schools are the best at churning out offensive linemen. Teams are ranked based on both quantity and quality. For instance, Central Michigan sent both Joe Staley and Eric Fisher to the NFL. Both rank well in terms of Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value statistic — a stat we used heavily in our rankings — but they are the only two Chippewa linemen currently in the NFL. Conversely, Florida has a ton of former Gator linemen in the NFL, but lacks "star power" outside of the Pouncey brothers.
Colleges like Florida, Nebraska, LSU, Stanford, Boston College, Purdue, Miami and Michigan all made our initial list but were cut in the end because of their depth, star power, or longevity.
What remains is a list of the top ten offensive lineman-producing schools in terms of quantity and quality currently on NFL rosters. In the case of a tie, incoming prospects in the 2017 draft helped us choose the better school.
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Use your arrow keys and the navigation bar to make your way through the slideshow. Keep turning to the last page to vote for who you think is the new O-Line-U.
