It’s about as cliché as it gets to say football is won and lost in the trenches. If you’ve watched AFC North football for any period of time, you’d know it’s less a cliché and more a sure thing like gravity or Marvin Lewis losing in the playoffs. Over the years, AFC North offensive linemen have been some of the best. From Anthony Muñoz and Willie Anderson to Joe Thomas and Jonathan Odgen, some of the best players at the position have played in the nastiest division in football.
Heading into 2026, there have been some power shifts. The Bengals used to have Wal-Mart greeters and mall walkers blocking for the franchise quarterback in the Super Bowl, while the Browns had an elite unit that amounted to nothing. Now, all four teams look good. However, when it comes to individual players, how do they stack up?
Ranking the Top AFC North Offensive Linemen for 2026
Honorable Mentions
We don’t usually do honorable mentions for these rankings, but there are so many good AFC North offensive linemen. Let’s start with the rookies. The Browns grabbed Spencer Fano as the top offensive lineman in the draft this year. He looks to be an immediate impact, potential future All-Pro kind of player. The same can be said of the Ravens’ first-round pick, Vega Ioane.
For the Steelers, Troy Fautanu is an ascending talent. He is the fourth-best AFC North offensive lineman in terms of PFSN’s offensive line impact ratings (OLi) and only allowed pressures on 6.1% of his pass-blocking snaps.
The Browns had to do an offensive line overhaul. Teven Jenkins joined the Browns prior to the 2025 season and was thrust into duty due to injury. He finished with a 77.7 overall PFF grade, the best in the AFC North. A new face to the Cleveland offensive line is former Houston Texan, Tytus Howard. He graded out as the best in the AFC North in overall and pass-blocking in the PFSN OLi ratings.
5. Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore Ravens
10 seasons, 120 starts. Ronnie Stanley has been suiting up for the Ravens for a long time now, and he’s still getting it done. While there were injury concerns after only playing seven games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Stanley only missed one game over the last two years. Oddly enough, that was the best stretch in his career as he missed four games in 2016, one in 2017, one in 2018, two in 2019, 10 in 2020, 16 in 2021, six in 2022, and four in 2023.
According to PFF, Stanley graded out at 70.9, the fifth-best among AFC North offensive linemen heading into 2026. Plus, according to PFSN’s OLi ratings, he had the second-best run-blocking grade with 81.7.
The two-time Pro Bowl, one-time All-Pro tackle is one of the best Ravens linemen in the franchise’s young history. It may be a bit of a legacy pick, but Stanley is certainly one of the best in the division.
4. Roger Rosengarten, Baltimore Ravens
From one side of the Ravens’ offensive line to the other. Heading into his third year, Roger Rosengarten has been getting better and better each year.
Compared to his fellow AFC North offensive linemen, Rosengarten had the second-best PFF grade (75.5) and the best PFSN OLi run-blocking grade (85.9). As a rookie in 2024, Rosengarten appeared in all 17 games with 14 starts at right tackle.
He’s on his way up and is an ascending talent as well. Over his final six games in 2025, Rosengarten allowed nine pressures and no sacks. With a new head coach and offensive coordinator in 2026, expectations are high that Rosengarten will take another step forward in his development.
3. Mason McCormick, Pittsburgh Steelers
Now, for the first Steeler on this ranking, third-year guard Mason McCormick. Quite possibly one of the most underrated offensive linemen in the NFL, McCormick has vastly outplayed his fourth-round draft capital to this point.
McCormick started off his career on the bench, but was slotted into the starting lineup in Week 4 of the 2024 season and hasn’t looked back.
When looking at PFF and PFSN grades, only McCormick and his teammate rank in the top five in every category. For PFF, he’s fourth-best. For PFSN OLi, he’s second-best overall, third-best run blocking, and fourth-best pass-blocking. For good measure, he had the fourth-best rating from Sports Info Solutions (SIS).
Last year, he allowed four sacks and 25 pressures on 634 pass-blocking snaps with just one penalty. The future is bright for the former South Dakota State Jackrabbit, especially with the coaching change.
2. Amarius Mims, Cincinnati Bengals
Another third-year player, Amarius Mims may have the highest ceiling of all of the best AFC North offensive linemen. The Bengals brought Mims in as the 18th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he’s been the go-to right tackle since taking over in Week 4.
PFF was not as high on Mims, grading him at 67.6 last year, but he posted the fifth-best overall PFSN OLi grade and fifth-best run-blocking grade.
Just as the rest of the offensive line improved, Mims was one of the best tackles over the final eight weeks. He didn’t allow a sack after Week 9 and was the 18th-best tackle according to PFF. Those final weeks were against the Steelers, Patriots, Ravens (twice), Bils, Dolphins, Cardinals, and Browns.
Not bad.
1. Zach Frazier, Pittsburgh Steelers
A center at number one? The AFC North is home to some solid centers, but Zach Frazier stands above the rest, that’s for sure. Despite playing arguably the least valuable position on the offensive line (which isn’t saying much), he’s been one of the best centers in the game in his time.
From the jump, Frazier took over as the starting center for the Steelers, only missing two games in two seasons. In terms of PFF grades, Frazier had the second-best overall grade among AFC North offensive linemen (73.5). When it comes to PFSN’s OLi, he was the third-best overall, third-best pass blocker, and fourth-best run blocker. SIS rated him as the top in the division and the second-best offensive lineman overall.
Last year, he allowed 11 pressures, good for a 1.7% rate, good for the fourth-best in the NFL among centers.
Heading into 2026, he’s looking to earn his first All-Pro nod in his young career.
Main Image: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
