Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins fought for the NFL to have an award that recognizes the best individual offensive line player in the league. He got his wish as the league will hand out the first-ever "Protector of the Year" award following the 2025 season.
As with any NFL award, there are betting odds. They may be longshot options, but the Los Angeles Chargers do have two offensive linemen listed as contenders for the award. Courtesy of BetOnline.ag, the full list of odds can be seen below:
Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater is listed at 40/1 (+4000) odds for the award. Just behind him on the list is the second half of the Chargers' tackle duo in right tackle Joe Alt. Heading into his second season, Alt is listed at 50/1 odds (+5000). At 3/1, Detroit Lions two-time All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell is the favorite for the award.
Slater and Alt deserve to have higher odds for Protector of the Year
Slater enters the 2025 campaign coming off of another elite season. PFF placed him third in their recent rankings of the top 10 tackles in the NFL. Slater allowed just three sacks and 22 pressures in 15 games. He earned the second Pro Bowl nod of his career in 2024, his first since 2021.
Slater will head into the last year of his rookie contract if the Chargers are unable to get an extension done with him this offseason. He was not present at the teams' first OTA session last week.
For Alt, he comes off of one of the better rookie tackle seasons in recent memory. He allowed six sacks and 24 pressures with a 79.4 PFF offensive grade. In his final 10 games including the playoff loss vs. Houston, Alt allowed just two sacks.
One question for both players will likely be health. Alt missed a game last year and took a bit to get back into peak form following an MCL sprain vs. Pittsburgh. Slater missed two games with pectoral and knee injuries last year. He also missed most of the 2023 campaign with a torn bicep.
Should Alt and Slater stay healthy as a tackle duo for 17 games, their odds aren't bad value here. When they've been on the field, both have put up Pro Bowl level pass protection performances statistically. At +4000 and +5000 respectively, the league may be a little too low on the Chargers' tackles.