Study: Offensive Line Performance Tied To 1st Round Running Backs

With the recent release of Steelers G David DeCastro, many national media members are approaching the situation from “the sky is falling” perspective when addressing the offensive line outlook for 2021. More specifically, ties have been made to the loss of DeCastro as a means to knock rookie RB Najee Harris and his potential impact Year One. This topic got me interested in the correlation between rookie RB production and the offensive lines that blocked for them upfront, so I pulled several names of notable first round rookie running backs since 2007 as well as the offensive linemen that started the majority of games from each spot. All statistics and starting lineups are provided via Pro Football Reference:

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