What Pro Football Focus thinks of the Texas Longhorns offense after five games

Pro Football Focus grades are what you make of them, but they do often paint a picture of how a player or team is performing over the course of multiple games. After the Texas Longhorns zoomed to a 5-0 record with wins over Colorado State, at Michigan, UTSA, ULM, and Mississippi State, the Longhorn offense has turned in strong performances PFF thought highly of.

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There’s greatness at each position, and some players are performing at an elite level. There’s also room for improvement as the grades show.

Embarrassment of riches at quarterback

Texas’ regular starter Quinn Ewers has a PFF offensive grade of 82.2 on the season, nothing to scoff at. He’s been credited with three Big Time Throws and just one turnover worthy play according to PFF. His 82.2 offensive grade thus far trails his 2023 mark of 86.8, and of course none of these grades factor in his absence over the last couple of games.

Good thing Arch Manning is on the roster. Albeit against lesser competition, Manning has a sterling 90.4 grade from PFF for offense. Only eight quarterbacks are ahead of him in offensive PFF grades, and two of them play for service academies that aren’t keen on the forward pass.

Manning has been credited with five Big Time Throws this year and three of them came against Mississippi State. He’s been cited for two turnover worthy plays, likely his two interceptions against Louisiana-Monroe.

That’s all to say the Longhorns have been the beneficiary of exceptional quarterback play this year in the eyes of the nation and of PFF.

Kelvin Banks is the O-line leader

Banks currently leads the Longhorn O-line with an offensive grade of 83.1. His pass blocking grade is a strong 90.1 and his run blocking grade is a sturdy 76.9. Banks has been charged with one penalty this year.

The rest of the offensive line is also turning in strong pass-blocking performances. Every starting O-lineman has a high-level pass blocking grade. Cameron Williams is at 82.5. Jake Majors is at 80.6. Hayden Conner is at 85.2. DJ Campbell is at 80.9. Cole Hutson, who plays regularly in Campbell’s place, has a respectable 72.8.

Overall, Williams has a 67.1 offensive grade. Majors sits at 65.6. Conner is at 64.7. Campbell is at 59.8.

Why are there disparities between their overall grades and pass-blocking grades? The run game.

Here’s the run-blocking grades for the starting O-line plus Hutson

• Kelvin Banks – 76.9
• Hayden Conner – 59.4
• Jake Majors – 63.5
• DJ Campbell – 59.2
• Cameron Williams – 66.6
• Cole Hutson – 67.9

Texas can pass block better than possibly anyone in the country, but is very middle of the road grades wise in run blocking.

High quality wide receivers

There is a distinct receiving grade separate from offensive grade in PFF’s system.

Either way, Ryan Wingo is the highest graded Longhorn wideout in both categories.

The Longhorns have played a six-deep rotation at wide receiver this year and all have given strong performances.

Wingo has the best PFF offensive grade at 83.9.

Isaiah Bond is right behind him with a 79.1 offensive grade.

Matthew Golden earned a mark of 72.9

Johntay Cook isn’t far behind at 69.9

DeAndre Moore Jr. has a grade of 67.6.

Silas Bolden rounds out the crew with a grade of 64.0. All these are good quality numbers.

PFF has a few more interesting stats available when looking at receivers. One of them is average depth of target. This is somewhat similar to yards-per-attempt for quarterbacks.

A lot can be learned about the Texas offense when looking at this stat.

ADOT

• Ryan Wingo – 15.0
• Johntay Cook – 13.8
• DeAndre Moore – 12.2
• Isaiah Bond – 10.9
• Silas Bolden – 10.8
• Matthew Golden – 10.8

On average, Texas is looking for a first down on every pass play.

Another stat worth knowing is yards per route run. Wingo once again blows everyone out of the water.

Y/RR

• Ryan Wingo – 4.49
• Isaiah Bond – 3.08
• Johntay Cook – 2.45
• Matthew Golden – 1.96
• Silas Bolden – 1.90
• DeAndre Moore Jr. – 1.75

All these details provide some context behind why the Longhorn pass game has been so explosive this season.

Mixed bag at TE and RB

Oddly enough, the Longhorn tight end room does not have a single player with a PFF offensive grade above 60.0 save for Jordan Washington‘s 60.5 on a measly 26 snaps.

Gunnar Helm is at the top of the room among regulars with an offensive grade of 59.7. That’s bolstered by a pass-blocking grade of 77.5 and a receiving grade of 62.9.

The rest of room has its ups and downs.

Second tight end Juan Davis has an offensive grade of just 47.9. That’s a few points better than Amari Niblack at 43.5. Niblack’s pass blocking grade is a horrid 23.3. His run blocking grade isn’t much better at 48.1.

The running back room boasts good grades. Jaydon Blue has a mark of 65.9 on offense and 68.6 when running the ball. His 53.9 grade on pass plays indicate where there’s work to be done hanging on to the football.

Quintrevion Wisner and Jerrick Gibson also have solid marks at 69.6 and 73.7 for offense, respectively.

Why then has Steve Sarkisian emphasized how much the Longhorns need Blue? Pass blocking

Gibson is a horrific 9.6 in pass-blocking. That’s out of 100. Wisner isn’t much better at 31.3. Blue is at 73.5.

Team marks are strong

The Longhorns have an overall PFF grade as a team of 95.5, good for fifth in the country behind No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Miami, No. 3 Indiana, and No. 4 Ole Miss.

Texas’ offensive grade of 84.3 is No. 11.

The passing offense grade of 88.5 is No. 11, too.

Pass blocking leads the country with a 92.4 grade, almost a full six points higher than No. 2 UCF’s 86.8.

Receiving stands at No. 6 with a grade of 78.5.

Rush offense is where Texas is lacking from a grades perspective, but mostly in terms of standing. They have a good mark of 78.5 but that’s good for No. 59 in the nation. The room for improvement in the run game is driven home by the run blocking grade. Texas has a grade of 63.7 there, which is No. 63 in the nation.

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The Longhorn offense has been one of the best in the nation this season. While there are areas where Texas can improve, the Pro Football Focus grades make it clear that quality approaching excellence is everywhere in Sarkisian’s area of expertise.