The offensive line isn't considered a skill position, yet the group requires as much skill, if not more, than any other spot.

A basic lack of understanding tends to accompany the big men who work in relative anonymity. In a twist of fate, this year's incoming NFL draft class is loaded with quality offensive line prospects, particularly at tackle.

"Yeah, man, there's some big boys now. That tackle group, oh my god," Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce told reporters. "Like, you're talking about a bunch of trees walking around at the combine and at these pro days. It's impressive."

The Bleacher Report Scouting Department has 11 offensive linemen graded among its top 32 prospects. But the depth extends well into the Day 2 range, with 11 more found among the top 100 prospects.

B/R's resident offensive line expert, Brandon Thorn, spent the last eight months breaking down the traits and skill sets found among each of these individuals. A little nuance is necessary to understand where they win, because offensive line play isn't just about mashing opponents in the run game and running pass-rushers wide. The craft itself is far more detailed.

Among 12 of the top offensive line prospects, each presents a strength superior to everyone else in the class. As a result, their fit for respective teams varies. Follow along as Thorn breaks each down while providing insight into why certain prospects should be primarily viewed as an interior or offensive tackle option.

Joe Alt: Best Overall Technician

A synchronicity to Joe Alt's game exists that is equal parts a treat and shock to watch, considering his 6'9", 321-pound frame, which usually results in disjointed leverage and sustain skills.

Alt bucks that trend by displaying an uncanny ability to maintain low pad level and even weight distribution through contact as a run-blocker that allows him to stick and steer blocks he has no business executing at his size.

Alt's game is rooted in fundamentals and technique, making him the embodiment of how Notre Dame has been able to churn out at one time the highest-paid left tackle (Ronnie Stanley), left (Quenton Nelson) and right guard (Zack Martin) contracts over the last decade.

Potential Fits: Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears

Olu Fashanu: Best Pass Set

Rarely does such a nuanced, unnatural and learned bag of skills like a pass set look as instinctive for an offensive lineman as it did for Olu Fashanu the first time he stepped onto a collegiate field as a 19-year-old true sophomore during the 2022 season.

It became immediately clear that Penn State found something special in its left tackle with his innate feel in his snap timing, positioning and footwork through the 2023 season.

Fashanu's 45-degree angled pass set is precise, consistent and balanced with a firm grasp on how to remain square to his spot to prevent the dreaded "soft inside shoulder" that so often plagues tackles.

Potential Fits: Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints

JC Latham: Strongest Hands

The term "vice grips" for hands can get thrown around a little too liberally in scouting circles. But it doesn't get more apt when describing JC Latham's ability to clamp down and arrest defenders at the point of attack.

Whether he's creating movement in the run game or halting it with his anchor in pass protection, there is no more difficult blocker to work "through" in this class than Latham, and that stems from his rare hand strength.

Considering these dominant reps occurred against SEC competition, it becomes even more clear that this distinction belongs to Latham.

Potential Fits: Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers

Troy Fautanu: Best Hands

Washington's Troy Fautanu operated in a unique collegiate scheme that was pass-heavy while featuring extensive true drop-back concepts, which left him on an island as much or more than any tackle in the nation.

This exposure was a welcomed divergence from the collegiate norm and a treat to study due to how often Fautanu was able to show off his adept hand-fighting skills.

The first-team All-Pac-12 performer has it all when it comes to hands, power, dexterity and the ability to play long, keep defenders at his fingertips and maximize his length. This should translate well to any position as a pro, but more on that in a bit.

Potential Fits: New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars

Graham Barton: Best Angles

Graham Barton's game revolves around contact balance, sustain and finishing skills. Once he is latched, the rep is usually over. What's easy to overlook about the result of so many of his blocks is how well he arrives on contact under control with a strong base.

One key aspect of Barton's effectiveness as a player are the angles of departure that he takes out of his stance on backside cut-offs, overtakes and climbs to the second level.

This ability to track where a target will be rather than where he currently is speaks to a special level of eye discipline, anticipation and quickness that likely plays a central role in why many analysts (including myself) feel comfortable projecting him at any of the five positions without much reservation.

Potential Fits: Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals

Jackson Powers-Johnson: Best Working in Space

If you were at all plugged into #OLTwitter this past college season, chances are you saw at least one eye-popping second-level block from the reigning Rimington Trophy winner.

Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson didn't test prior to the draft to confirm the high-level burst seen on film. But there are plenty of on-film examples to make one feel strongly about his ability to connect on targets while on the move.

Whether uncovered with a free release, on a screen or having to time and explode off a combo block, JPJ's ability to wipe out smaller targets at 328 pounds is special.

Potential Fits: Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys

Taliese Fuaga: Best Zone Blocker

Taliese Fuaga enters the NFL from an extremely well-coached unit at Oregon State that utilized a run-heavy, zone-based system where the two-year starter's blend of mass (6'6", 324 lbs), girth and quickness led to an efficient, impactful run-blocker.

Not only does Fuaga execute combo blocks and cut-offs well with precise timing and footwork, he also arrives on contact with heavy hands and bad intentions to cave in defenders.

The most impressive part of his game is how well he can track and intersect targets on his timely releases to the second level, taking proper angles to line up and jolt smaller opponents out of rush lanes.

Potential Fits: Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers

Zach Frazier: Play strength

Zach Frazier's prospect profile is the personification of a starting NFL center, with the foundation of his game rooted in play strength.

In offensive line jargon, play strength is the ability to overcome force with force to gain control of a block and displace an opponent. Much of this comes from superior body positioning, pad level, hand strength and mobility.

As a four-time heavyweight West Virginia state champion wrestler, Frazier has a game that's built on these characteristics, and it shows up all over his film—including an epic performance against Pittsburgh this past season that netted a dozen knockdowns where he was able to impose his will with ease.

Potential Fits: Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys

Tyler Guyton: Best Feet

Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton is nearly 6'8" and 320-plus pounds yet glides around the field with an ease of movement and looseness typically reserved for a much smaller player. This translated to his being able to effortlessly expand his set points against high-side rushes and stay attached and balanced through the top of the quarterback's drop on a level that are hallmarks of a high-level starting tackle in the NFL.

Even with some footwork issues in terms of the oversetting and in the run game, Guyton's blend of size and twitch in his lower half to combat speed around the corner justify the label of featuring the best feet in the class.

Potential Fits: Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers

Cooper Beebe: Best Gap Blocker

Kansas State's Cooper Beebe started 48 games inside Kansas State's predominantly downhill run scheme that majored in gap concepts such as duo and counter with an emphasis on inside rather than outside zone.

This approach fit perfectly into the sawed-off, 320-plus-pound consensus All-American's playing style, via which he excelled as a battering ram with enough movement skills to line up and delete targets as a puller.

Add in Beebe's positional versatility with seven or more starts at three different positions, and it becomes easier to project his ability to convert what he put on film in college to the pro game, whether that's at guard or center.

Potential Fits: Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints

Christian Haynes: Best Finisher

"Finishing" on the offensive line is more about a process and mindset than result. Things like effort, tenacity, strain and consistency act as a formula for staying between the defender and ball through the echo of the whistle. The fruits of that labor can be dumping the opponent on the ground for a knockdown or pancake block, but they aren't a prerequisite.

Connecticut's Christian Haynes is the total package in that regard, fighting and clawing his way through every rep from start to finish—the first to the fourth quarter—regardless of game situation.

His approach routinely irritated and tormented his opponent on film and showed up at the Senior Bowl against fresh competition that wasn't fully accustomed to this abrasive style of play.

In a class rife with physical, tone-setting presences and viable candidates for this distinction, Haynes stands out for the quantity and consistency of high-level finishes on tape.

Potential Fits: Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions. San Francisco 49ers

Christian Mahogany: Power

Boston College's Christian Mahogany essentially functions as a barroom brawler on the field, where he regularly delivers jarring blows that put dents in defenders on contact.

While his style can backfire and lead to some glaring whiffs, defenders definitely "feel" the power in his hands when he connects.

If power is defined as force multiplied by velocity, Mahogany's 314-pound frame with elite-level linear burst and bad intentions is as discernible as it gets in this class.

Potential Fits: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens

Tackle or Guard?

Conversations occur every draft cycle about which positions certain offensive linemen should play. Often, collegiate offensive tackle prospects are projected to guard, while others aren't. Why? Let's explain this year's crop of 'tweeners.

Troy Fautanu: Guard

Of the names listed here, Fautanu is the one player I would feel most comfortable leaving at tackle due to his offering the best combination of tape at the position, quickness and length.

Fautanu operated in a more pass-heavy scheme than any of the players listed below and does have some shades in his game that former Northwestern tackle Rashawn Slater did as a prospect.

The main difference between him and Slater is that Fautanu has a more frenetic, aggressive approach to his game that is traditionally a better fit inside, where contact happens sooner.

Inside at guard is where Fautanu can more often take the fight to his opponent on his timeline while avoiding some of the glaring misses that tend to happen in more space. His high-end movement skills and power make the guard projection really come together, offering the most upside for his specific skill set in the process.

Taliese Fuaga: Guard

One key area that I search for on the film of all tackles is their ability to protect the corner against high-side rushes from wide-rush alignments, specifically on true dropback passes without the help of play action or RPOs. These are typically the most difficult and high-leverage situations a tackle can find themselves in.

Considering the alignments typically widen and vary with a dramatic uptick in competition in the NFL, when a college tackle has issues expanding set points, striking down the middle of a rusher with the outside hand and getting their outside hand trapped (usually by the cross-chop technique), they usually will become more pronounced in the NFL.

These concerns popped up throughout Fuaga's film the more I studied and would largely be mitigated with a move inside, which would also maximize what he does best.

Jordan Morgan: Guard

In a similar vein as Fuaga, recurring issues in pass protection appear on Morgan's tape that stemmed from a bad habit of letting his pads rise in his set when threatened with speed, leaving his inside shoulder vulnerable to being lifted and pried open from inside power moves.

Many examples of Morgan losing inside can be seen on his film that call into question his ability to consistently hold up on an island at tackle in the NFL.

Add in his being a very physical, strong player with plenty of quickness to match up with 3-techniques, and a bump inside makes sense to get the most out of him as a pro.

Brandon Coleman: Tackle

TCU's Coleman measures in more like a tackle than guard, even though he looks more like the latter in terms of body type. But he performed better at the former over his last two seasons.

In a similar mold as longtime starting tackle Cordy Glenn mixed with 49ers backup Jaylon Moore in terms of body type and play style, Coleman wins with quick, decisive pass sets and hands that he uses to square up, engulf and control defenders. His sustain skills are still a work in progress, but he demonstrates the movement skills to improve in this area over time.

Dominick Puni: Guard

Kansas' Puni has a wide-bodied frame with very good power, play strength and run-blocking skills. He repped at center and guard at the Senior Bowl after playing left tackle last season at Kansas, looking like a natural at both, especially center. He could offer a team tackle versatility in a pinch but looks like a fixture inside first.

Kiran Amegadjie: Tackle

Yale's Amegadjie looks and plays like an offensive tackle. Despite not being tested due to poor competition at Yale and not totally dominating, he has enough flashes of finishing blocks with authority to suggest there is untapped potential to unlock with an NFL staff and weight room.