Profiling Left Tackles

[Jeremy Igo]

 

It is obvious to even the most casual fan that the Carolina Panthers need a major upgrade at left tackle in 2015. Not so clear, however, is where to find that player. 

 

I decided to take the top ten left tackles, as graded by Pro Football Focus, and see if a bit of profiling could help determine where elite left tackles come from and how they got there. 

 

(Yes, I am aware PFF is not the absolute truth in terms of performance, but for this exercise it is good enough)

 

Turns out, the results were a mixed bag. 

 

 

Jason Peters - Philadelphia Eagles - Arkansas - UDFA 2004 - 6'4 328

Peters spent some time on the Buffalo practice squad early, was cut once, and eventually earned time at right tackle. He started at right tackle for the Bills in 2006. In 2007 he was a pro bowl left tackle. He has been a stud ever since even after an achilles injury in 2012. 

 

 

Andrew Whitworth - Cincinatti Bengals - LSU - Round 2 (55) 2006 - 6'7 334

Whitworth spent most of his time at left guard until 2009, three years after being drafted late in round two. He then moved to left tackle and performed well. 

 

 

Joe Thomas - Cleveland Browns - Wisconsin - Round 1 (3) 2007 - 6'6 313

Joe Thomas started at LT from the moment he was drafted third overall and performed well ever since.

 

 

Joe Stayley - San Francisco 49ers - Central Michigan - Round 1 (28) 2007 6'5 306

Joe Stayley started at right tackle after he was taken late in the first round of 2007 where he performed well. He started at left tackle one year later in 2008 and had mixed results. He didn't come into his own at left tackle until 2012 (5 years after being drafted). 

 

 

Kelvin Beachum - Pittsburgh Steelers - Southern Methodist - Round 7 (248) 2012 6'3 306

Kelvin Beachum saw some playing time at right tackle after he was drafted in 2012, where he performed poorly. In 2013 he moved over to left tackle due to injuries along the line. He actually performed adequately then. Beachum started every game in 2014 and had positive numbers in every game. 

 

Tyron Smith - Dallas Cowboys - USC - Round 1 (9) 2011 - 6'5 307

Tyron Smith started at right tackle for the entire 2011 season where he performed well. He started at left tackle in 2012 and had mixed results. In 2013 he performed much better and ended with high ratings. 

 

 

Donald Penn - Oakland Raiders - Utah State - UDFA 2006 - 6'4 317

Domald Penn too over at left tackle in 2007 due to injuries for Tampa Bay and performed well. He was an above average left tackle from then on. He had his best season as a pro in 2014 with Oakland. 

 

 

Branden Albert - Miami Dolphins - Virginia - Round 1 (15) 2008 - 6'6 309

Branden Albert started at left tackle right of the gate in 2008 and has had mixed results until 2010 when he started to improve. He was having the best season of his career in 2014 until he tore his ACL and MCL in week 10. 

 

 

Jared Veldheer - Arizona Cardinals - Hillsdale - Round 3 (69) 2010 - 6'6 315

Jared Veldheer was actually slated to start at center, but was moved to left tackle his rookie year. He won the starting job by midseason. 

 

 

Duane Brown - Houston Texans - Virginia Tech - Round 1 (26) 2008 - 6'4 315

Duane Brown split time at left tackle and ended with poor grades overall his rookie season. He started performing well in 2010, two years after being drafted, 

 

 

So what information can we draw from this if the Panthers aspire to have a top ten left tackle? I would say.... 

 

- If you have a top ten pick, you might get a stud left tackle right out of the gate. Unfortunately, the Panthers pick much later

 

- Half of the top ten left tackles are first round draft picks. That is a pretty strong trend. 

 

- Three of the top ten left tackles are either a 7th round pick or undrafted, emphasizing the fact that once you leave the first round... there is little difference in the rest of the prospects. Whats the difference in a 4th round tackle and a UDFA tackle? Not much, apparently.  

 

- The left tackles taken near the Panthers selection either played at right tackle or struggled a bit their rookie year at left, but ended up being well worth the wait. Luckily for the Panthers, this years draft is said to be especially deep for offensive tackles. It is very possible that a top 15 pick in other years could fall to 26 this year, increasing the chances for a franchise left tackle. 

 

- Jason Peters early career resembles that of Panthers right tackle Mike Remmers.... (just sayin), So the Panthers might actually have their future LT on the roster already, crazier things have happened. Remmers played well once he was called upon, just like Peters. 

 

 

Conclusion? 

 

It seems like there may be another perfect storm for the Panthers. Last year a top need was receiver, and the best player available was a receiver. This is an ideal scenario.

 

This season the best player on the board could very well be an offensive tackle. If that ends up being the case, the Panthers will pull the trigger on a tackle. From there, it would be wise to start the rookie tackle at right tackle and allow Remmers and possibly a free agent compete for the left tackle position. This arrangement would at the very least be a marked improvement over the Chandler/Bell experiment from last season. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Remmers is actually a good prospect and with the way he finished out the season he should get a shot at LT. His biggest weakness is getting beat by the swim move. If he can fix that he could be a solid tackle for us.

[d-dave]

My question is how do we find guys who can come in and play for us and be successful?  This will depend on others who know a lot more about football than me (nice cop out huh?).

 

Can Remmers be a dancing bear?  I think for a LT it's the balance of athleticism, Length, and positioning.  Can they put themselves in a situation where they can maximize their talents and win 1-on-1?  The athleticism and length go a long way there.

[t96]

Best case scenario for us IMO is we sign Roos to start at LT and hope he can still be solid or better, develop Remmers to be our future LT and draft our future RT. Roos at left, Remmers at right is good enough for this season I believe, with Norwell and Turner at guard spots.

[Bj-Monster23]

I completely agree with this. This is why I wouldn't be too surprised if the Panthers go with TJ Clemmings if he is on the board at 25. He is raw with only two playing years at right tackle. He is a former basketball player and former defensive end. He has the the long arms and frame with the strength and the ability to become a dancing bear because of his athleticism! He just needs to improve on his technique but that comes with more playing experiences. He is raw but Kelvin Benjamin had the same raw criticism too. That worked out well in our favor. Some scouts say once he develop he can be a Pro Bowl left tackle. Some scouts also says he is drawing many comparisons to Tyron Smith who was also a raw prospect right tackle coming out of USC.

[The_Light_Brigade]

Profiling is wrong.  

[CoastalCat]

I'm not a doctor or anything, but it looks like about half (exactly half) of these elite guys came out of the 1st round. Why don't we do ourselves a favor and complement our ball control, running offense with some decent line play. Remmers finished strong, but we've got him on the cheap anyway. Our line depth is awful. Even if someone can't start right away, have to get some talent in the building.

[h0llywood]

Based on the information above, given our draft position, it would probably be best to sign a FA to fill that need or move Remmers. 

[philw5289]

funny thing about jason peters is that he left college playing the tight end position and got moved once he went to the pros

[CoastalCat]

Top Performers And The LT's Who Love Them.pdfWith very few outliers, the safest bet is to 1) Draft from a Power 5 program, and 2) draft in the first round. 

 

Just put together a quick chart based on the top 10 rushers and passers in yardage this past season. File is attached

 

A few notes: 

-Yes, I know that there are a few duplicates due to some teams (a-holes) being top 10 in both categories

-I added AP as the #10 rusher, because science

-Sorry if I put someone in there who is just in the lineup because someone just got released or something. I literally spent 10 minutes on this. Give me a break people.

 

Findings

-Over half of the top passers and rushers have a first round pick at LT

-6 of the top 10 (top 5 of each category) have a first rounder at LT

-14 of 20 have a LT from a power 5 program. This might just be a population statistic (i.e. 14 in every 20 picks could be power 5 anyway), but worth noting. 

 

Next up: We'll see where the LTs in the bottom 10 in each category came from.

 

[MHS831]

Bill Polian said something recently that I found incredibly interesting:  (paraphrasing)  Left tackles have to possess long arns.  It is the #1 factor that determines success at the position. 

 

I have made the Remmers comment before-he played LT at ORE ST.  He is built like a LT (not a RT) and his run blocking is weak.  It stands to reason that he would do better on the left side, on paper, anyways.

[Malt Liquor]

Long arms, big arms whatever it takes. We can not go into this season with Byron Bell as our starting LT.

[CoastalCat]

Bottom Performers And The LT's With Bad Footwork.pdf

 

Here is the same analysis for the bottom 10 rushing and passing teams.(Attached)

 

Interesting Results:

-About the same amount of power 5 program guys. Just stay away from Central Michigan

-5 of the 20 bottom LT's from the 1st round are in their 1st or 2nd year

-Don't count on a 1st round pick to come in and fix your passing game. 8 of the bottom 10 passing teams have 1st rounders at LT

-Only 3 of the bottom 10 rushing teams have 1st round picks, and only 1 in the bottom 5

-The only 2 teams of the bottom 20 that still made the playoffs had 1st round picks from power 5 schools (Seattle, Detroit)

 

Till next time...

[O-Ther]

Bill Polian said something recently that I found incredibly interesting:  (paraphrasing)  Left tackles have to possess long arns.  It is the #1 factor that determines success at the position. 

 

I have made the Remmers comment before-he played LT at ORE ST.  He is built like a LT (not a RT) and his run blocking is weak.  It stands to reason that he would do better on the left side, on paper, anyways.

 

Might happen if we end up with a guy like Clemmings that will need 2+ seasons to develop. Saw Clemmings Senior Bowl practices.  He had problems with outside moves and severe problems with inside moves. Will need a year's worth of training camp and practices just to be ready for RT, then a year of actually playing RT before switching to LT. Huddle will consider him a failure for not being our stud LT right away and blame Gettleman. Then in 2 years when Clemmings is ready for LT, Huddle will scream at Rivera for not playing him right away. <sigh>