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The 2026 college football offseason is in full swing. With that, it’s time to start ranking the top-10 returning players at every single position.
Next up is offensive tackle. Plenty of star tackles from the 2025 season are sticking around for another year, making this a loaded list.
Below is a list of PFF’s top 10 returning offensive tackles in college football with an honorable mention nominee. Please note that NFL projection was not taken into account in these rankings.
Click below to view our other position rankings
1. Carter Smith, Indiana
Fresh off a national championship, Smith now tops this list after placing eighth a year ago. He has been the most valuable tackle in the country over the last two seasons, according to PFF’s wins above average metric.
Smith is entering his fourth year as Indiana’s starting left tackle and is the only returning tackle in the FBS who posted top-10 grades as both a pass blocker and run blocker in 2025. He has great play strength with a competitive mentality and should be transfer quarterback Josh Hoover’s best friend this upcoming season.
2. Cayden Green, Missouri
Green spent the first two seasons of his career at left guard for Oklahoma and Missouri before kicking out to left tackle this year for the Tigers. It was a move that worked out wonderfully for the junior, as his 89.6 PFF pass-blocking grade was second in the FBS and the best mark of any returning tackle.
Green was by no means a slouch in the run game either, placing 20th nationally with a 78.2 run-blocking grade. He has good size and length for the position at 6-foot-5 and 324 pounds with an anchor that kills bull rushes on impact.
3. Trevor Goosby, Texas
Goosby saw extended action in 2024 as the backup left tackle to Kelvin Banks Jr., a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He became the starter this past season and looks like he could become a first-round pick himself.
Goosby and Carter Smith are the only returning tackles in America who earned 80.0-plus PFF grades both as a pass blocker and as a run blocker. He wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season as the sixth-most valuable tackle in the FBS according to our wins above average metric. Goosby has rare movement skills at 6-foot-7 and 312 pounds, which allows him to mirror even the best speed rushers.
4. Trevor Lauck, Iowa
After playing just 23 snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2024, Lauck became Iowa’s starting left tackle this past season. And like every Hawkeye offensive lineman in 2025, he dominated.
His 99.0 pass-block efficiency score was second in the nation to only Spencer Fano, a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Lauck didn’t allow a sack on 303 pass-blocking snaps, and his 79.2 PFF run-blocking grade was 18th in the FBS.
5. Jordan Seaton, LSU
Seaton is the highest transfer on this list, moving to LSU following two seasons as Colorado’s starting left tackle. The former five-star recruit is arguably the best pass protector returning to college football, as his 84.8 pass-blocking grade on true pass sets in 2025 ranked third in the country and best among returning tackles.
It’s Seaton’s work in the run game that needs serious work, as his 52.0 PFF run-blocking grade was 263rd among 310 qualifying tackles in the nation. Still, his movement skills and pass-protection polish could have Seaton go in the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft.
6. Austin Siereveld, Ohio State
Siereveld was a starting guard for the Buckeyes as a sophomore before kicking out to left tackle this past season. He finished 2025 as the eighth-most valuable tackle in America according to PFF’s WAA metric and is third among returning ones behind Carter Smith and Trevor Goosby. Siereveld’s violent demeanor shows up most in the run game, as his 83.3 PFF run-blocking grade is the best of any returning Power Four tackle.
7. PJ Williams, SMU
Williams started at both left tackle and right tackle for SMU in 2024 before settling in on the right side this past season. Among returning Power Four tackles, only Carter Smith has been more valuable than him over the last two years, according to our WAA metric.
His 80.3 PFF run-blocking grade was 15th in the FBS this year, while his 80.0 overall grade was 16th. Williams is also coming off back-to-back seasons with a 75.0-plus pass-blocking grade. He’s the best right tackle in college football right now.
8. Michael Carroll, Alabama
Carroll was a five-star recruit and the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the 2025 high school class. However, he played right tackle for the Crimson Tide as a true freshman and showed significant promise.
Carroll’s 71.4 PFF pass-blocking grade led all true freshmen tackles nationally, and he was the most valuable, according to PFF’s WAA metric. He saved his best for last in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal against the eventual national champion in Indiana. In that Rose Bowl, Carroll posted a career-best 82.6 run-blocking grade and only surrendered one pressure across 41 pass-blocking snaps.
9. Andrew Sprague, Michigan
Sprague became Michigan’s starting right tackle as a redshirt freshman and showed why he was a top-10 offensive tackle recruit in the 2024 class.
He posted 70.0-plus grades as both a pass blocker and run blocker, one of only five Big Ten tackles to do so. Sprague also only gave up one sack across 383 career pass-blocking snaps and was one of the 30 most valuable tackles in the country according to our WAA metric.
10. Anthonie Knapp, Notre Dame
Knapp has been Notre Dame’s starting left tackle in each of his first two seasons, taking over for Joe Alt in that role.
He improved his pass-blocking grade from a 49.2 mark in 2024 to 66.7 this past season, only surrendering one sack on 334 pass-blocking snaps in 2025. Knapp also improved his run-blocking grade to a 72.5 figure this year. Overall, he’s the ninth-most valuable returning Power Four tackle across the last two years according to our WAA metric.
Honorable Mention: Jacarrius Peak, South Carolina
The second transfer on this list, Peak will be LaNorris Sellers’ blindside protector in 2026 after transferring in from NC State.
His 84.1 PFF pass-blocking grade this past season was tied for 11th in the nation and is tied for fifth among returning tackles. Peak’s 79.5 pass-blocking grade the year before was fifth in the ACC. He will be a very welcome addition to a South Carolina offensive line that has placed outside the top-95 of team pass-blocking grade in three consecutive seasons.
It should be noted that Peak suffered a knee injury in February and will miss spring practice, though the Gamecocks believe that he will be ready to go by the time the season kicks off in September.