The Auburn Tigers are, as of today, exactly two weeks away from their season opener against Baylor, but there are still several question marks surrounding the team.

It seems like every fan has a different idea of what the team’s biggest issue is, and on Saturday, Pro Football Focus’ Max Chadwick shared his take.

“Alex Golesh will run a fast-paced offense loaded with talent at the skill positions, but there are questions in the trenches,” he wrote. “Auburn must replace all six offensive linemen who played at least 250 snaps last season… Competition along the offensive line could continue until the start of the season, but if the group can develop into a competent unit, Auburn’s offense has the potential to be one of the better units in the country.”

After Hugh Freeze was fired, six of the seven offensive linemen to record a start departed, whether to the NFL, as was the case for five of the six, or to the transfer portal, as in Xavier Chaplin’s case, as he followed Ashton Daniels to Florida State.

Alex Golesh has reloaded the room, though there are plenty of concerns as to how they will fare, especially when the Tigers’ 2025 unit, which was better on paper, struggled immensely to maintain a clean pocket for Jackson Arnold. 

In typical Golesh fashion, two of the five new offensive linemen are from USF, where Golesh previously coached and brought over several key players, while the rest appear to be part of Golesh’s attempt to replicate Curt Cignetti’s 2025 season, as they are almost all seniors or fifth-year players.

The big question mark in this unit is the fact that none of the offensive linemen who will suit up for Auburn in 2026 (barring Kail Ellis, who played for the Tigers last season in a limited capacity) have ever played in a full SEC schedule, and it certainly doesn’t help that this year will add yet another SEC game to the schedule.

The Tigers are expected to run the ball quite heavily, so the pressure will be lessened to consistently maintain clean pockets, but the group will still need to create clean rushing lanes against some of the best defenses in the country on a fairly consistent basis if this offense is to work.

Otherwise, we could easily see a repeat of last season, and I think I speak for all of the Auburn family when I say that no one wants to see that again.

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