The NFC East has been home to some of the most elite offensive lines and linemen in recent memory. Offensive line play has been a big reason for the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff runs, and the Dallas Cowboys have routinely squandered elite offensive lines. Heading into 2026, there are some stalwarts at the position who, despite being a year or two away from retirement, can still play at an elite level.
Ranking the Top NFC East Offensive Linemen for 2026
5. Tyler Smith, Dallas Cowboys
At one point in time, you could probably just list all five Cowboys starters as the best NFC East offensive linemen. Today, not so much (mostly due to how good the Eagles are). However, Tyler Smith is still holding down the fort for America’s Team™.
Initially a late-first-round pick, Smith has been a great interior offensive lineman for the Cowboys for four seasons now. Across those four seasons, he’s appeared in 63 games, all starts, while missing just five games.
Last year, Smith earned his second-career Pro Bowl nod and was named the top interior offensive lineman by ESPN. In terms of grades, PFSN’s OLi grades are higher for him than PFF tends to be. Compared to the rest of the NFC East, Smith has the best PFSN pass-blocking grade (81.9), and second-best overall (86.1) and run-blocking (86.5) grades. PFF gave him a 73.5 grade for last year.
4. Laremy Tunsil, Washington Commanders
After that infamous draft-night slide, Laremy Tunsil has been an interesting case in the NFL. However, for 11 seasons now, he’s been a solid option on the offensive line. He spent his first three seasons with the Miami Dolphins before getting traded to the Houston Texans. After five seasons in Houston, he was traded again to the Washington Commanders prior to last year.
Compared to the rest of the division, he had the second-best PFF grade at 84.7. PFSN was a bit lower on him with 81.9 overall, 81.3 run-blocking, and 79.8 pass-blocking grades, but he’s still one of the elites in the division and NFL overall.
Among NFL executives, coaches, and scouts, Tunsil was named the fifth-best offensive lineman overall heading into 2026. Despite the fact that his 2025 ended three games early, he only allowed four sacks and had a 91.5% pass-block win rate.
3. Jordan Mailata, Philadelphia Eagles
Finally, an Eagles offensive lineman. As part of the NFL’s top tackle duo, Mailata has been one of the elite tackles in the NFL for a while now. Ranked as the fourth-best tackle in football by executives, coaches, and scouts, it seems the NFL is more than aware.
Each of the grading systems we use loved his 2025. According to PFF, he had the third-best overall grade in the NFC East with an 83.4 grade. PFSN’s OLi had him fourth-best in overall (83.9) and run-blocking (85.5), while he posted a 79.7 pass-blocking grade.
His story is legendary. He had never played a snap of American football prior to being selected in the 2018 NFL Draft; he had only played rugby.
Somehow, he’s never earned a Pro Bowl or first-team All-Pro nod. Just goes to show how quality the tackle play is in the NFC.
2. Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles
If we were ranking NFC East offensive linemen by their overall careers, Lane Johnson would be number one, bar none. For 13 seasons, Johnson has been an elite tackle for the Eagles and is well known for his improvement year over year. As a rookie, he allowed 10 sacks. Over the next 12 seasons combined, he allowed 10 sacks. That’s ridiculous.
He took a marginal step back last year in terms of grading. PFF had him as the fourth-best NFC East offensive lineman with a 77.4 grade. PFSN handed him the second-best pass-block grade with an 81.9 mark, plus 76.4 run-block and 80.8 overall grades.
2026 may be his final dance. If it is, it will be interesting to see if he can add to his lengthy accomplishments. He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time first-team All-Pro, three-time second-team All-Pro, and six-time Pro Bowler.
1. Andrew Thomas, New York Giants
Finally taking the step the Giants needed him to, Andrew Thomas comes into 2026 as the best of the NFC East offensive linemen. It may seem sacrilegious to rank him over Johnson, but the numbers see him out.
His PFF overall (90.3), PFSN overall (86.4), and PFSN run-block (88.4) grades were the best of the NFC East, while his pass-blocking grade (80.3) was fourth.
We may be zagging while others are zigging, but Thomas is the next man up. The NFL executives, coaches, and scouts had him as the eighth-best tackle in the league, but that’s a tad low.
Last year, across 802 snaps (448 pass-blocking), Thomas allowed just one sack and 13 pressures with three penalties last year. Perhaps the issue is health, considering he missed four games last year, 11 games in 2024, and seven in 2023.
Availability is the best ability, but if he can stay healthy, he could be one of the top tackles in the NFL. With a new offensive approach under John Harbaugh and Matt Nagy, he could take another step this year.
