Blocking has an enormous impact on fantasy player value. According to many years of my research, running backs score four to five times as many fantasy points on plays with good run blocking (generally defined as not allowing the defense to disrupt a rush attempt) as they do on plays with bad run blocking.
It also has a significant impact on fantasy scoring in the passing game, as quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends post roughly 60 percent more points per play on dropbacks when the quarterback has a clean passing pocket versus plays when the quarterback is under pass rush pressure.
The fantasy football world has lagged behind when it comes to effectively measuring the impact blocking has on fantasy production, so I devised a new blocking grading system that uses multiple advanced metrics to project the 2017 season-long offensive line performance for all 32 teams and noted how those grades could affect the fantasy value of players on those clubs.
That type of information was very useful during the draft, but how can fantasy owners use it to help determine which players they should start or sit on a weekly basis?
To assist in this effort, I applied a similar methodology to measure the strength of the defensive front sevens of every team and gave each defense an A to F grade in pass rushing, rush defense and consistency/stability, all of which resulted in an overall front seven grade.
I then took those grades and compared them to the offensive line grades to find out the relative blocking strength of every matchup of Week 1.
The relative portion of this system is the main factor here, as it is designed to ignore the overall strength of an offense and instead give higher grades to teams with better matchups. For example, a team with an A overall blocking grade facing an A front seven will rate lower on the scale than a B blocking club facing a C defensive front seven.
The entire chart of relative blocking favorability grades is posted at the bottom of the column, so let's now take a closer look at the teams that have the most and least favorable blocking matchups in Week 1.