PFF Ranks Auburn Tigers Offensive Line Top-10

The Auburn Tigers ended the year going 5-7, taking a step back from their 6-7 season the year before. However, there seems to be a sense of hope this offseason as the Tigers begin to prepare for the third season of the Hugh Freeze Era. Pro Football Focus (PFF) backs this up by ranking the Auburn Tigers’ offensive line seventh-best heading into 2025. 

This is a team that allowed 27 sacks in 2024, which is pretty average among SEC teams in eighth. However, in the grand scheme of college football, it ranks a tie for 74th out of 133rd. A major concern is that the team in 133rd was Oklahoma, where Auburn's new transfer quarterback came from (Jackson Arnold). 

While one certainly can’t put all the blame on Arnold, he does share some of it for the sacks. One thing is certain; the Tigers are going to have to protect Arnold who was sacked 34 times a season ago. The worst part is that he was benched for a month. 

It is understandable why PFF would have high hopes for Auburn this upcoming season. All five of the Tigers’ projected starters were starting somewhere on a Power Four team a season ago. Three of them were playing on the Plains a year ago (center Connor Lew, guards Dillon Wade and Jeremiah Wright). All three were also above the 70.0 PFF overall grade last season. The two others are Virginia Tech transfer Xavier Chaplin and USC transfer Mason Murphy. The pair are veterans of the trade. Chaplin is above 70.0 PFF grade on both the pass and run-block grades.  

There's a strong case for why the Tigers’ line is highly regarded by PFF. If all the pieces come together, perhaps some could push Auburn into the upper echelon of the SEC and college football again. 

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