Bills year in review: offensive line grades -

The offensive line group was without a doubt the biggest area of concern for the Bills in 2022. Josh Allen’s athleticism and elusiveness is great, but it only helped to mask the ineptness of two of the league’s worst starting linemen in Rodger Saffold and Spencer Brown.

The PFF grades from every starting lineman dropped from 2021 to 2022. Is this just a coincidence? Is it time to find a new offensive line coach? Is it time to draft offensive line early in the draft?

Bills starting line PFF Grades ‘21 vs ‘22

Dion Dawkins 79.4/73.8⁰Rodger Saffold 68.1/44.0⁰Mitch Morse 63.4/61.0⁰Ryan Bates 66.3/61.5⁰Spencer Brown 59.8/53.4

Every lineman regressed.

Aaron Kromer needs to be held accountable.#BillsMafia
— Put Steve Tasker in the Hall of Fame (@HOFSteveTasker) January 30, 2023

Here are the grades for the Bills o-linemen in 2022:

Rodger Saffold, Guard
Games Started: 18
Games Played: 18
PFF Grade: 44.0
PFF Rank: 74^th of 78
Grade: F

Analysis: Rodger Saffold was a disappointment this season. He may have flourished in the run-first Tennessee offense in 2021, but Saffold was a liability in the Bills interior offensive line. PFF has him ranked 74^th of 78 eligible offensive guards in the league, meaning at best he’s a low-end backup.

Of the 58 guards that played at least 50% of his team's snaps this year, Rodger Saffold's PFF grade was 50th.
— Tweets by Sneaky Joe (@SneakyJoeSports) January 30, 2023

Dion Dawkins, Tackle
Games Started: 17
Games Played: 17
PFF Grade: 73.8
PFF Rank: 24^th of 84
Grade: B-

Analysis: Although Dion Dawkins’s play fell off a bit in 2022, he was by far the most reliable pass protector in the Bills’ pass-first offense. His value to the Buffalo Bills goes beyond the playing field.

Ryan Bates, Guard
Games Started: 17
Games Played: 17
PFF Grade: 61.5
PFF Rank: 41^st of 78
Grade: C

Analysis: Ryan Bates was average in 2022. He regressed a bit from 2021 but wasn’t a major concern on the Bills offensive line.

Spencer Brown, Tackle
Games Started: 16
Games Played: 16
PFF Grade: 53.4
PFF Rank: 76^th of 84
Grade: D-

Analysis: Spencer Brown was one of the worst graded tackles in the league in 2022. He showed promise during his injury-prone 2021 season, but there wasn’t improvement from ’21 to ’22—in fact Spencer Brown got worse. His play has a lot of Bills fans thinking a tackle may be selected on the second day of the draft.

Spencer Brown was one of the worst rated offensive tackles in all of football last season… We saw no jump from year one to year 2. There is no evidence it will ever happen. But Because it's his draft pick project they will roll with him again and jeopardize Josh Allen
— Gregory 🏈 (@TheSportsBully1) January 26, 2023

Mitch Morse, Center
Games Started: 15
Games Played: 15
PFF Grade: 61.0
PFF Rank: 24^th of 38
Grade: C

Analysis: Mitch Morse proved to be the most consistent offensive lineman for the Bills in 2022. His rapport with Josh Allen is as important to the Bills offense as the Josh Allen/Stefon Diggs connection. The biggest concern with Mitch Morse is his susceptibility to concussions.

Greg Van Roten, Guard
Games Started: 4
Games Played: 18
PFF Grade: 57.6
PFF Rank: 52^nd of 78
Grade: C-

Analysis: Greg Van Roten would have been a better alternative at left guard than Rodger Saffold.

David Quessenberry, Tackle
Games Started: 3
Games Played: 18
PFF Grade: 59.3
PFF Rank: 69^th of 74
Grade: C-

Analysis: David Quessenberry outplayed Spencer Brown when he was called on to start in Brown’s right tackle position in the middle of the season.