The Built Ford Tough Offensive Line of the Year was an award given annually in honor of the National Football League (NFL)’s best offensive line. The award was established after the 2016 season, and first awarded to the Dallas Cowboys at the 6th Annual NFL Honors. The award has not been given since the 2018 season.
| Built Ford Tough Offensive Line of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Awarded annually to the best offensive line. |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | National Football League |
| First awarded | 2016 |
| Currently held by | Los Angeles Rams |
In 2009, the NFL announced they would be honoring the league’s best offensive line with the Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award.[1] The award was named after John Madden and sponsored by Prilosec OTC.[2] The award was discontinued after the 2012 season.
In 2016, the Ford F-Series was named the NFL’s official truck sponsor.[3] After that, the NFL and Ford partnered together to begin awarding Offensive Line of the Week recognitions, with NFL Network analyst and former Pro Bowl center Shaun O’Hara selecting those lines.[3] At the 6th Annual NFL Honors, following the 2016 season, the Dallas Cowboys‘ offensive line was selected as the Offensive Line of the Year.[4]
| Season | Team | Guards | Tackles | Center | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dallas Cowboys | Ronald Leary (left guard) Zack Martin (right guard) | Tyron Smith (left tackle) Doug Free (right tackle) | Travis Frederick | [5] |
| 2017 | Philadelphia Eagles | Stefen Wisniewski (left guard) Brandon Brooks (right guard) | Halapoulivaati Vaitai (left tackle) Lane Johnson (right tackle) | Jason Kelce | [6] |
| 2018 | Los Angeles Rams | Rodger Saffold (left guard) Austin Blythe (right guard) | Andrew Whitworth (left tackle) Rob Havenstein (right tackle) | John Sullivan | [7] |
- ^ Fine, Larry (November 12, 2009). “New “Madden Award” to honor best offensive line”. Reuters. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ “New Orleans Saints Offensive Line Honored with First Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award Presented by Prilosec OTC(R)”. PR Newswire. February 3, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Poolaw, Rhiannon (September 30, 2016). “Ford F-Series is the official truck of the NFL; Dallas Cowboys named offensive line of the week”. KSWO. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ “2017 ‘NFL Honors’ list of award winners”. NFL.com. February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ O’Hara, Shaun (February 7, 2017). “Offensive Line of the Year: Dallas Cowboys lived up to the hype”. NFL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ O’Hara, Shaun (February 3, 2018). “Offensive Line of the Year: Versatile, athletic Eagles take prize”. NFL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ O’Hara, Shaun (February 2, 2019). “Offensive Line of the Year: Dominant Rams front takes prize”. NFL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.