Offensive linemen do not win NFL awards.
For as much as their performance is pivotal to the success of an NFL team, the cold hard truth is the narratives that decide the MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year awards are not built around those who spend their time in the trenches.
But if there is going to be an end to the wait for the first offensive lineman to win Rookie of the Year, then it may come from Rashawn Slater of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Slater is enjoying a stellar beginning to his NFL career, the 13th overall pick vindicating his draft status and locking down the left tackle spot to allow quarterback Justin Herbert to enjoy an MVP calibre start as the Chargers have gone 4-1 through five games.
With the class of rookie quarterbacks enduring plenty of first-year struggles and few of the highly drafted skill position players delivering results worthy of such significant recognition, Slater should have a better chance of at least receiving some Offensive Rookie of the Year votes.
Slater’s Early Resume
Though he had difficulties protecting Herbert from Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett in Week 5, giving up a sack on a stunt involving Garrett and Malik McDowell and another following a spin move from the 2017 first overall pick, Slater has otherwise done a superb job keeping his quarterback clean.
His pressure rate allowed of 5.3% ranks fourth among left tackles with a minimum of 100 pass protection snaps. Digging deeper into his numbers, Slater has lost only 13 of his 110 pass protection matchups, a win rate of 88.18%.
Slater’s stunt-adjusted win rate of 87.29% is 13th among tackles with at least 50 matchups and is superior to that of Penei Sewell (76.27), the seventh overall pick of the Detroit Lions.
With his athleticism translating superbly to the highest level, Slater has been similarly effective in the run game, with a double-team adjusted win rate of 85.25% from his 37 matchups.
Rarely would such sound offensive line play even put a rookie in the conversation for an individual award; however, 2021 could prove a unique case.
Limited QB Competition
Much was made of the strength of the 2021 quarterback class, yet that has not been reflected in the play of the five signal-callers to be taken in the first round so far.
Truly standout performances from rookie quarterbacks have been thin on the ground to this point, and the fact 15th overall pick Mac Jones leads the group in passing yards (1,243) and percentage of accurate, well-thrown balls (83.2) speaks to the mediocrity of their displays.
Jones has been accurate while struggling to push the ball downfield, with his air yards per attempt average of 7.51 the lowest among rookie quarterbacks.
First overall pick Trevor Lawrence’s six touchdowns lead all rookies, yet his well-thrown percentage is a disappointing 75.2 and his pickable pass percentage of 4.85 is well above the league average of 3.16.
The only two rookies to have excelled at avoiding turnover-worthy throws are Justin Fields (1.43%) and Trey Lance (2.13%). However, Fields has yet to put together a game to suggest he could win the award while Lance’s one start so far was an uneven performance in which his positive flashes were negated by the poor execution of his offensive team-mates.
With the quarterbacks failing to build a convincing case, the favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year must be Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Chase’s 456 receiving yards are seventh in the NFL and he already has five touchdowns to his name. The fifth overall pick is producing a big play on 38.9% of targets, comfortably the best rate among rookie receivers with at least 10 targets.
Such numbers would seem to make him the clear frontrunner, but with the Bengals now 3-2 and facing a more difficult schedule than they have contended with through five weeks, his stock could soon take a dent and open the door for Slater, whose case would be strengthened by a strong performance against a potential Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
The Week 6 Test
The Chargers’ ability to move the ball against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday may be contingent on how well Slater performs against another first-rounder in Baltimore pass rusher Odafe Oweh.
Oweh already has three sacks to his name and his 14 pressures were second only to Miami Dolphins’ rookie Jaelan Phillips among first-year edge rushers heading into Week 6.
Boasting only 12 wins from 54 pass rush matchups, the more granular numbers are not as impressive for Oweh. But his production to this point in terms of sacks suggests Oweh is a player who is quick to take advantage of opportunities that come his way.
A freakish athlete with elite short-area and long speed, Oweh only started playing football in high school, meaning there is likely plenty more growth to come from a defender who has already developed rapidly in his short time with the Ravens.
Slater, therefore, cannot afford to take the challenge of facing Oweh lightly despite the matchup numbers indicating he should have a clear advantage over his fellow rookie.
Coverage of the sport is such that more focus is given to the plays where the pass rusher beats his man and gets to the quarterback than to the plethora of snaps where the offensive lineman stops a defender from making an impact.
As a result, Slater’s Rookie of the Year argument perhaps rests on him completely stopping Oweh from producing any splash plays.
Even if he does so, the prospect of him claiming the honor will be an unlikely one, but a performance in which he shuts down Oweh, helps the Chargers reach 5-1 and assists Herbert in further building his MVP case will at least be worthy of a wider conversation about recognition for arguably the premier offensive rookie of the class in the opening month of the season.
Design by Matt Sisneros.