2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: Guards (AFC)

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season. OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The guards in the AFC. Settle down now. I know you're excited......

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

Guards (AFC)

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting guard in the AFC....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

32. Paul Fanaika (Kansas City Chiefs)

Age: 29

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 7

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -10.6

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -10.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -22.8

31. Khalif Barnes (Oakland Raiders)

Age: 33

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 4

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -8.9

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -9.2

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -18.9 (-20.7 in 2013)

30. Johnnie Troutman (San Diego Chargers)

Age: 27

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 5

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 1

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -14.4

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -10.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -25.1

29. Willie Colon (New York Jets)

Age: 32

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -16.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 6.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -16.3

28. Todd Herremans (Indianapolis Colts)

Age: 32

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -0.1

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -11.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -12.5

27. Dallas Thomas (Miami Dolphins)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 7

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 7

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -12.9

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -19.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -32.7

26. Chris Williams (Buffalo Bills)

Age: 29

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 1

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -5.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -6.9

25. James Carpenter (New York Jets)

Age: 26

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 6

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -10.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 0.6

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -12.0

24. Ben Garland (Denver Broncos)

Age: 27

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -1.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.2

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -2.4

23. Ryan Wendell (New England Patriots)

Age: 29

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 7

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 5.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -14.7

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -8.3

22. Richie Incognito (Buffalo Bills)

Age: 31

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: Didn't play last year

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: Didn't play last year

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: Didn't play last year

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: Didn't play last year

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: Didn't play last year

21. Ben Grubbs (Kansas City Chiefs)

Age: 31

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 6

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -2.4

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -0.4

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -0.2

20. Billy Turner (Miami Dolphins)

Age: 23

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -0.4

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 0.7

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 0.4

19. Jack Mewhort (Indianapolis Colts)

Age: 23

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 12

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 1.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -4.1

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -2.5 

18. Ben Jones (Houston Texans)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 1.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -4.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -0.8

17. Josh Kline (New England Patriots)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 4.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -5.7

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -0.8

16. Zane Beadles (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Age: 28

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -8.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 7.4

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 1.9

15. Andy Levitre (Tennessee Titans)

Age: 29

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 6

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 1

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 1.5

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -5.1

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -5.8

14. Ramon Foster (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Age: 29

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -1.6

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -2.2

13. Louis Vasquez (Denver Broncos)

Age: 28

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 5

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 9

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -2.6

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.1

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -1.2 

12. David DeCastro (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -1.4

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 2.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 1.9 

11. Gabe Jackson (Oakland Raiders)

Age: 23

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -3.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 7.8

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 3.7

10. Clint Boling (Cincinnati Bengals)

Age: 26

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 12

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 7.9

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -4.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 4.9

9. Chance Warmack (Tennessee Titans)

Age: 23

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 5.9

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.1

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 4.1

8. John Greco (Cleveland Browns)

Age: 30

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 6

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 10.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 1.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 14.2

7. Brandon Linder (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Age: 23

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 5

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 4.1

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 10.6

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 16.6 

6. Kelechi Osemele (Baltimore Ravens)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 17.4

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 2.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 21.4

5. Kevin Zeitler (Cincinnati Bengals)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 11.0

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 6.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 19.3

4. Orlando Franklin (San Diego Chargers)

Age: 27

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 9.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 9.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 15.4

3. Brandon Brooks (Houston Texans)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 14.0

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 4.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 18.7

2. Joel Bitonio (Cleveland Browns)

Age: 23

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 11.7

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 10.2

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 22.4 

1. Marshal Yanda (Baltimore Ravens)

Age: 30

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 34.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 13.2

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 47.2