The AFC West has many talented quarterbacks heading into the 2026 NFL season, but how well they do starts with who’s protecting them on the offensive line. Now it’s time to rank the top offensive linemen within this division.
The Best AFC West Offensive Linemen for 2026
5. Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers
Offensive tackle Joe Alt makes this list because even though he’s still pretty early in his career, he’s accomplished a lot in his first two seasons. Even though Alt is the only Los Angeles Charger to make this list, Rashawn Slater would have also been included had he not suffered a season-ending injury before the start of the 2025 season.
Some of Alt’s accolades include being named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2024 after starting in every game but one. The following season, Alt played on and off after dealing with an ankle injury and was placed on injured reserve, but he was still named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.
The 6-foot-9, 322-pound right tackle definitely has a bright future and a lot of potential. Still, it all depends on how healthy he can stay in 2026, and it will help the Chargers offense and quarterback Justin Herbert even more if they don’t have to worry about Alt and Slater constantly fighting injuries.
4. Tyler Linderbaum, Las Vegas Raiders
Center Tyler Linderbaum hasn’t even played a snap for the Las Vegas Raiders yet, but his resume speaks for itself and justifies why he’s number four on the list. The 6-foot-2, 305-pounder played the first portion of his career with the Baltimore Ravens alongside quarterback Lamar Jackson.
In four seasons with Baltimore, Linderbaum was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2022 after starting every game in his NFL debut season, and he was also named to the Pro Bowl three consecutive seasons from 2023 to 2025.
Now that the Raiders have drafted Fernando Mendoza and will be investing in him as their next franchise quarterback, Linderbaum is a great addition for the team, as they will need many good offensive linemen to protect Mendoza from the dangerous defenders in the division who will be chasing him. Linderbaum can offer a glimmer of hope to a team that is once again projected to finish last in the AFC West.
3. Quinn Meinerz, Denver Broncos
Quinn Meinerz being the ranked the third best offensive linemen in the AFC West wasn’t a hard choice given what he’s made out of his circumstances. Meinerz is the highest-ever drafted NFL player in Wisconsin-Whitewater history and became the first from his alma mater to be drafted since 2007. Despite not earning any honors in his rookie season with the Denver Broncos in 2021, the 6-foot-3, 320-pound right guard played in 15 games and started nine of those games.
As he’s continued playing in Denver, things have kept getting better for Meinerz, who earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2024 and 2025 and earned his first career Pro Bowl selection in 2025. Meinerz is the fifth Broncos guard since the AFL-NFL merger to be named a Pro Bowler and the first since Louis Vasquez in 2013, and also joins tackle Ryan Clady and center Tom Nalen as the only offensive linemen in team annals to be named first-team All-Pro multiple times.
Meinerz finished 2025 with the lowest quarterback pressure percentage allowed by all NFL guards after allowing only 29 quarterback pressures on 658 total pass blocking snaps, while his 4.4 quarterback pressure rate was the second-best mark among all NFL guards according to NextGenStats. If Meinerz remains effective, the Broncos have an even greater opportunity to build an even better offense than they did in 2025.
2. Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos
Garett Bolles’ career hasn’t been perfect since he arrived in Denver, but he’s more than deserving of being crowned the second-best offensive lineman in the division as he has proven to the organization that he is a player that they can constantly rely upon. So far, the 6-foot-5, 300-pound left tackle has not only played in 133 games but has started in every one of those games.
Some highlights of Bolles’ tenure with the Broncos include being named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2017, earning Second-team All-Pro honors in 2020, and most recently receiving First-team All-Pro honors and being named to his first Pro Bowl in 2025.
Bolles arguably had the best season of his NFL career yet and was one of the best tackles in the league in terms of pass protection, only allowing a 5.9 quarterback pressure percentage with at least 575 pass-blocking snaps, which is the lowest among all NFL tackles according to NextGenStats. Even though Bolles is getting up there in age, the Broncos and Bo Nix should be grateful that the team will have strong stability in 2026 with one of their tackles and one of their guards.
1. Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs
Creed Humphrey is currently the best offensive lineman in the AFC West because he’s been on a roll since transitioning to professional football. The 6-foot-4, 302-pound center was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2021, has earned Pro Bowl honors four consecutive seasons, earned Second-team All-Pro honors in 2022, back-to-back First-team All-Pro honors in 2024 and 2025, and is a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Humphrey is the most consistent offensive lineman in the AFC West and has started and played in all 85 games of his NFL career, while also leading all centers with a 97.6% pass-block win rate from 2022 to 2024. To add on, Humphrey was included in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025, where he ranked 93rd, and he was also ranked 94th this past season.
The Chiefs weren’t as dominant last season and didn’t run the AFC West like they’ve been known to since superstar Patrick Mahomes took the front seat as the backbone of their offense. There were many factors as to why this happened, as Kansas City struggled a lot last season, even before Mahomes’ season-ending injury. As long as Humphrey is on the Chiefs’ roster, he will give them the assurance they need, while winning isn’t anything new to him. If he can help the organization thrive as it did the last few years, he is capable of doing so in the future.
Main Image: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
