While a lot of our positional lists for the 2022 NFL season feature all kinds of new players bumping previous stars off their podiums, our list of the best offensive guards is very consistent from then to now. Only two of the guards who made the list last year are off this year — Ali Marpet of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who retired, and Brandon Scherff, formerly of the Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders and now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose injury history and overall excellence when healthy took a turn in a different direction.
Perhaps the consistency is inherent to the position — is it possible that guards have less of a performance variance from season to season than players at other positions, even when they switch teams? Joe Thuney went from the Patriots to the Chiefs in the 2021 offseason with a five-year, $80 million contract, and he was just as good in a very different system. Kevin Zeitler went from the Giants to the Ravens, proved to be a perfect fit in Baltimore’s system, and might have been even better than he was before.
That’s potentially good news for former Patriots guards Ted Karras and Shaq Mason, who have new homes with the Bengals and Buccaneers, respectively. Not to mention former Rams and Titans guard Rodger Saffold, now with the Bills.
Last year’s list was compiled by our own Mark Schofield, and this year’s list by yours truly with no cribbing, so there you go. And while this list of guards is very much in line with our 2021 version, there is some movement inherent in these rankings. There’s a new guy at the top, while the former guy at the top could very well be there again with more consistent health, and a much, much, MUCH more consistent quarterback than he had last season.
With all that out of the way, here are Touchdown Wire’s top 11 guards in anticipation of the 2022 NFL season.
The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders
The NFL’s top 12 outside cornerbacks
The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders
The NFL’s top 12 interior defensive linemen
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).
