When the Chicago Bears looked to rebuild their offensive line before the start of last season, the first big move they made was to acquire Joe Thuney from Kansas City.
Thuney helped turn a weakness for the Bears into a strength with his stellar pass blocking and he earned the honor of being picked as the top interior offensive lineman in the NFL by The Associated Press.
A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at guard and center, basing selections on current status entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
Thuney got four first-place votes and narrowly won the voting with 42 points. Kansas City center Creed Humphrey got two first-place votes and was second with 40 points. Denver's Quinn Meinerz got one first-place vote and came in third, and Atlanta's Chris Lindstrom got the other first-place vote and was fourth. Indianapolis' Quenton Nelson came in fifth.
Dallas' Tyler Smith, Las Vegas' Tyler Linderbaum, Kansas City's Trey Smith, Seattle's Grey Zabel, Miami's Aaron Brewer and Tennessee's Peter Skoronski also got votes.
Thuney has been a top performer for the past decade, helping both New England and Kansas City win two Super Bowl titles. He has been picked as an All-Pro the last three seasons and is one of the best pass blockers in the game.
He allowed no sacks, one quarterback hit and just 15 total pressures during the 2025 season, according to Pro Football Focus, helping Chicago win its first division title in seven years and win a playoff game for the first time in 15 years.
Thuney's former teammate in Kansas City has been a top center in the league since being picked in the second round in 2022. Humphrey has been a Pro Bowler the last four seasons and an All-Pro the past two as the anchor of the line for the Chiefs.
Humphrey allowed just eight pressures, one sack and two QB hits last season, according to PFF.
Meinerz made the leap from Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater to the NFL in 2021 with relative ease. He quickly established himself as one of the league's top guards and a key part of one of the NFL's top offensive lines in Denver.
He is one of the game's best run blockers and has been named an All-Pro the past two seasons.
Lindstrom has been a second-team All-Pro the past four seasons and is a key part of the line that has helped running back Bijan Robinson earn All-Pro honors. Lindstrom has made four Pro Bowls and missed only one game total the past six seasons.
Nelson was an All-Pro his first three seasons in the NFL from 2018-20. While his level of play has dropped a tick in recent years, he's still one of the most dependable guards in the league.
He has been a Pro Bowler in each of his eight seasons and remains one of the game's top run blockers.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Dirk van Ulden said:
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