OSU Offensive Line Checkup: Who Is Playing Where and How Much Are They Playing?

Support PFB with a PFB+ membership — $8 a month or $50 for a year.

STILLWATER — The Cowboys’ offensive line plans took a major hit just six plays into the season when starting tackle Jacob Sexton suffered a season-ending injury.

Although the offensive line might’ve not handled the rest of that first game well, the group has done good to rebound since. Even with other guys getting banged up here and there, Eric Morris and offensive line coach Cody Crill have managed to juggle healthy bodies and pave the way to the Cowboys being 5-2 and right in the thick of the Big 12 title race.

In recent weeks, Braydon Nelson has started getting more involved. Nelson started every game at tackle for Morris at North Texas last season but missed the start of the year with injury. He rotated in at left tackle during the Cowboys’ win against Colorado this past weekend and even played a late series at left guard after Johnny Dickson went down with an injury.

“It’s been good to see (Nelson) get back to speed,” right guard Joseph Hanson said. “His experience and how his playstyle is, very aggressive guy, really gets in there. Knows what he’s doing, knows the offense. It’s really good to see him back.”

As of writing, Dickson’s status moving forward is unknown, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at the Cowboys’ top seven offensive linemen in terms of snap counts at each offensive line position, with snap counts coming from PFF.

Of that group, Hanson has the best overall PFF grade for the season at 70.1, while Tyler Mercer paces the field in pass-blocking grades (83.6). Hanson also has the best run-blocking grade at 68.7.

Hanson has had to learn how to play guard this season. He had been at Coastal Carolina the past three seasons with all 1,081 of his OL snaps as a Chanticleer coming at tackle (mostly right tackle).

“I think it’s been pretty good,” said Hanson of his move to guard. “Really got my grounding in it, so I’m enjoying it.”

Torgeson has given up the most pressures from OSU O-linemen this season, and by a decent margin. Per PFF, he’s allowed 23 quarterback pressures. The next closest is Desmond Magiya at 11. The 23 pressures allowed is the most of any offensive lineman in the Big 12.

Per PFF, Mestemaker has been under pressure in 68 dropbacks this season, which ranks third in the Big 12 behind TCU’s Jaden Craig and Kansas’ Isaiah Marshall. Of those, 38.2% of pressures are coming from the left tackle spot, which is the highest in the league — narrowly edging out that of Mikey Keene (Arizona State) at 38.1%.

To a certain extent, you can understand why those numbers are high for Torgeson. He’s only a redshirt sophomore and was slated to battle at right tackle before Sexton’s injury flipped him to the left side. Eric Morris has previously noted that with Torgeson’s size (6-foot-4), he probably projects to be a guard down the line, but the Cowboys needed him defending Mestemaker’s blindside. Torgeson is a good young player, bustling with potential, but he has been thrown into the fire early.

If Nelson is going to break into the starting lineup, left tackle seems like the most likely spot, considering it’s where Nelson played last year and he’s already rotating with Torgeson there. But if Dickson is going to miss some time — Morris referred to Dickson as being “a little nicked up” on Tuesday — perhaps Nelson slots in there. He had played 468 snaps at guard entering this season.

It’s not all too often an offensive line goes through a season unscathed — it’s too physical a position group. That was a reality the Cowboys faced on their first drive of the year, but since then they have done a good job of stabilizing and could soon take another step forward if Nelson ends up being a difference-maker.