You might not think you're drafting Bryant McKinnie or Steve Hutchinson when you take Vikings rusher Adrian Peterson No. 1 overall in your draft this summer, but you are.

Rank Team GPA Grade
1 Carolina Panthers 3.40 B+
2 New York Giants 3.33 B+
3 Dallas Cowboys 3.26 B
3 New York Jets 3.26 B
3 Philadelphia Eagles 3.26 B
6 New England Patriots 3.20 B
7 Atlanta Falcons 3.13 B
7 Denver Broncos 3.13 B
7 San Diego Chargers 3.13 B
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3.13 B
11 Indianapolis Colts 3.06 B
11 Tennessee Titans 3.06 B
13 Minnesota Vikings 3.00 B
14 Baltimore Ravens 2.93 B-
14 New Orleans Saints 2.93 B-
16 Houston Texans 2.86 B-
16 Jacksonville Jaguars 2.86 B-
16 Miami Dolphins 2.86 B-
19 Cleveland Browns 2.80 B-
19 San Francisco 49ers 2.80 B-
19 Seattle Seahawks 2.80 B-
22 Arizona Cardinals 2.73 B-
22 St. Louis Rams 2.73 B-
24 Kansas City Chiefs 2.66 B-
25 Green Bay Packers 2.60 C+
25 Oakland Raiders 2.60 C+
25 Pittsburgh Steelers 2.60 C+
28 Detroit Lions 2.46 C+
29 Chicago Bears 2.40 C+
30 Washington Redskins 2.31 C
31 Cincinnati Bengals 2.00 C
32 Buffalo Bills 1.66 C-
The unsung heroes on offenses across the league are the linemen. They protect the quarterback and open holes up for the running back, and they do it with little praise and fanfare. Sure, Fantasy Football enthusiasts recognize that they're there, but we don't draft them, trade them or pick them up off the waiver wire, so sometimes they're invisible to us -- even though many of them weigh over 300 pounds.

But in your quest to draft the best players, considering the five guys in front of them is a must. Without good interior linemen, running backs could struggle to gain yardage against defenses with quality defensive linemen. Without good tackles, quarterbacks might see pass rushers in their face more often than normal. And without cohesiveness, O-lines could stumble, draw penalties and even get their skill-position players hurt.

There's a reason why Peterson has been a Fantasy stud for two years. There's a reason why the zone-blocking scheme has become popular across the NFL. The skill and ability of a team's offensive line usually correlates directly to the success and failure an offense experiences. As such, you must pay attention to these O-lines.

How we grade

Like we did last year, we graded linemen individually on a scale similar to your basic school report card. We did give weighted value to players who have been in the same scheme for a long time, especially if the men around them have been there for a while, too. We also would give a player a better grade than they deserve if their backup is just as capable of doing their job. And like last year, we mandated that no rookie gets a grade higher than a 'B.'

We then took each individual grade and computed the cumulative average without any bell curve or weighing grades for blind-side tackles. Like any offensive line coach will tell you, a line is only as strong as its weakest link, so all linemen were graded and scored equally.

Be sure to consider these rankings when reviewing for your draft this summer. After all, these players are huge keys to the Fantasy studs you'll be targeting early on in your drafts.

Arizona Cardinals
LT LG C RG RT
Mike Gandy Reggie Wells Lyle Sendlein Deuce Lutui Levi Brown
B- B- C- B+ B+
Cumulative GPA: 2.73 (B-)
Atlanta Falcons
LT LG C RG RT
Sam Baker Justin Blalock Todd McClure Harvey Dahl Tyson Clabo
B+ B- B- A- B+
Cumulative GPA: 3.13 (B)
Baltimore Ravens
LT LG C RG RT
Jared Gaither Ben Grubbs Matt Birk Marshal Yanda Michael Oher
B+ A- B C+ C+
Cumulative GPA: 2.93 (B-)
Buffalo Bills
LT LG C RG RT
Langston Walker Andy Levitre Geoff Hangartner Eric Wood Brad Butler
C- D+ C- C+ D+
Cumulative GPA: 1.66 (C-)
Carolina Panthers
LT LG C RG RT
Jordan Gross Travelle Wharton Ryan Kalil Keydrick Vincent Jeff Otah
A A- B C+ A-
Cumulative GPA: 3.4 (B+)
Chicago Bears
LT LG C RG RT
Orlando Pace Frank Omiyale Olin Kreutz Roberto Garza Chris Williams
B- B- B C C
Cumulative GPA: 2.4 (C+)
Cincinnati Bengals
LT LG C RG RT
Andrew Whitworth Nate Livings Kyle Cook Bobbie Williams Andre Smith
C+ D+ D B C+
Cumulative GPA: 2.0 (C)
Cleveland Browns
LT LG C RG RT
Joe Thomas Eric Steinbach Hank Fraley Rex Hadnot John St. Clair
A B+ C+ C C+
Cumulative GPA: 2.8 (B-)
Dallas Cowboys
LT LG C RG RT
Flozell Adams Kyle Kosier Andre Gurode Leonard Davis Marc Colombo
B+ B A- B+ B
Cumulative GPA: 3.26 (B)
Denver Broncos
LT LG C RG RT
Ryan Clady Ben Hamilton Casey Wiegmann Chris Kuper Ryan Harris
A B+ C+ B- B+
Cumulative GPA: 3.13 (B)
Detroit Lions
LT LG C RG RT
Jeff Backus Damion Cook Dominic Raiola Stephen Peterman Gosder Cherilus
B C- B C B-
Cumulative GPA: 2.46 (C+)
Green Bay Packers
LT LG C RG RT
Chad Clifton Daryn Colledge Scott Wells Jason Spitz Allen Barbre
B+ C+ B- C+ C+
Cumulative GPA: 2.6 (C+)
Houston Texans
LT LG C RG RT
Duane Brown Chester Pitts Chris Myers Mike Brisiel Eric Winston
B B- B C A-
Cumulative GPA: 2.86 (B-)
Indianapolis Colts
LT LG C RG RT
Tony Ugoh Ryan Lilja Jeff Saturday Mike Pollak Ryan Diem
B B+ B+ B- B
Cumulative GPA: 3.06 (B)
Jacksonville Jaguars
LT LG C RG RT
Tra Thomas Vince Manuwai Brad Meester Maurice Williams Tony Pashos
B B+ B- C+ B
Cumulative GPA: 2.86 (B-)
Kansas City Chiefs
LT LG C RG RT
Branden Albert Brian Waters Rudy Niswanger Mike Goff Damion McIntosh
B A- C C+ C+
Cumulative GPA: 2.66 (B-)
Miami Dolphins
LT LG C RG RT
Jake Long Justin Smiley Jake Grove Brandon Frye Vernon Carey
A B+ C C B
Cumulative GPA: 2.86 (B-)
Minnesota Vikings
LT LG C RG RT
Bryant McKinnie Steve Hutchinson John Sullivan Anthony Herrera Phil Loadholt
A- A+ C- B- B-
Cumulative GPA: 3.0 (B)
New England Patriots
LT LG C RG RT
Matt Light Logan Mankins Dan Koppen Steve Neal Nick Kaczur
B+ A B+ B- B-
Cumulative GPA: 3.2 (B)
New Orleans Saints
LT LG C RG RT
Jammal Brown Carl Nicks Jonathan Goodwin Jahri Evans Jon Stinchcomb
A C B- B B
Cumulative GPA: 2.93 (B-)
New York Giants
LT LG C RG RT
David Diehl Rich Seubert Shaun O'Hara Chris Snee Kareem McKenzie
A- B B+ A- B
Cumulative GPA: 3.33 (B+)
New York Jets
LT LG C RG RT
D'Brickashaw Ferguson Alan Faneca Nick Mangold Brandon Moore Damien Woody
B+ A+ A- B- C+
Cumulative GPA: 3.26 (B)
Oakland Raiders
LT LG C RG RT
Mario Henderson Robert Gallery John Wade Cooper Carlisle Cornell Green
C+ B B- B C
Cumulative GPA: 2.6 (C+)
Philadelphia Eagles
LT LG C RG RT
Jason Peters Todd Herremans Jamaal Jackson Stacy Andrews Shawn Andrews
A B+ B B B
Cumulative GPA: 3.26 (B)
Pittsburgh Steelers
LT LG C RG RT
Max Starks Chris Kemoeatu Justin Hartwig Darnell Stapleton Willie Colon
B B C+ C B-
Cumulative GPA: 2.6 (C+)
San Diego Chargers
LT LG C RG RT
Marcus McNeill Kris Dielman Nick Hardwick Kynan Forney Jeromey Clary
B+ B+ B+ B- B
Cumulative GPA: 3.13 (B)
Seattle Seahawks
LT LG C RG RT
Walter Jones Mike Wahle Chris Spencer Rob Sims Sean Locklear
B+ B- B C+ B-
Cumulative GPA: 2.8 (B-)
San Francisco 49ers
LT LG C RG RT
Joe Staley David Baas Eric Heitmann Chilo Rachal Marvel Smith
B+ C+ B- B- B
Cumulative GPA: 2.8 (B-)
St. Louis Rams
LT LG C RG RT
Alex Barron Jacob Bell Jason Brown Richie Incognito Jason Smith
D B+ A- B- B
Cumulative GPA: 2.73 (B-)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
LT LG C RG RT
Donald Penn Arron Sears Jeff Faine Davin Joseph Jeremy Trueblood
B B B A- B
Cumulative GPA: 3.13 (B)
Tennessee Titans
LT LG C RG RT
Michael Roos Eugene Amano Kevin Mawae Jake Scott David Stewart
B+ C+ B+ B+ B
Cumulative GPA: 3.06 (B)
Washington Redskins
LT LG C RG RT
Chris Samuels Derrick Dockery Casey Rabach Randy Thomas Stephon Heyer
B+ B B- B+ C-
Cumulative GPA: 2.31 (C)

Have a question or a comment for Dave about Fantasy Football? Send your thoughts or questions to DMFantasyFootball@cbs.com and he'll get to as many as he can. Be sure to put Attn: Offensive lines in the subject field. Include your full name, hometown and state.