How important is a good LT in the NFL?

Ah, the trenches of a football game. Many astute observers of football believe football games are won and lost in the trenches between the offensive line and the defensive line. The casual fan thinks it just the quarterback and the "skill" position players. It's true that the top teams always have an good to elite quarterback but look at the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Brady is a lot better than little Manning but his offensive line lost the battle to the Giants defensive line. Quite frankly I thought New England played too conservative in their defense. And so it goes the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. Yes it was bigger than Broadway Joe's Super Bowl prediction.

The Left Tackle (LT) is only one of five members of the offensive line, so why does he get the most attention? He gets it because he's protecting the team's most valuable asset from the opposing teams best pass rusher. Of all the 32 teams only Arizona has a left handed starting quarterback and he gets benched in favor of a much older quarterback. A right handed quarterback's blind side is then his left side. He is much less likely to see a pass rusher coming from his left and get rid of the ball then from his right side. A pass rusher coming from the quarterback's blindside has that extra fraction of second to sack or better yet strip the quarterback of the ball. If a quarterback gets hit too many times in the back or has defenders around his legs his production will dramatically drop off. Just ask Tommy.

The Denver Broncos used their first round pick, 12th overall, to select perhaps the best left tackle in the 2008 NFL draft. Miami used the first overall pick to select a "tackle" but many experts see him as a good right tackle because he's a little too stiff. A first round selection is a big deal in the NFL. Is using it on a potenitally good Left Tackle a wise investment?

All the successful teams in the NFL have good quarterbacks which means they need good left tackles and offensive linemen to protect them. The interesting thing is that most of the good teams did not take a left tackle in the first round.

New England: 2001 second round Matt Light

Indianapolis Colts: 2007 second round Tony Ugoh (but they traded a 2008 first round pick to take him in the second round)

Dallas Cowboys: 1998 second round Flozell Adams

San Diego Chargers: 2006 second round Marcus McNeill

Green Bay Packers: 2000 second round Chad Clifton

Pittsburgh Steelers: 2000 second round Marvel Smith

Jacksonvillie Jaguars: 2005 second round Khalif Barnes

New York Giants: 2003 fifth round David Diehl


All these successful teams didn't use a first round pick on such an important position. This shows successful teams don't need to use a first round pick on a left tackle. However when you look back on the last decade in the NFL which left tackles have been considered the best?

Orlando Pace first round 1st overall Super Bowl winner

Jonathan Ogden first round 4th overall Super Bowl winner

Walter Jones first round 8th overall Super Bowl runner-up



The best three left tackles of the last decade were all first rounders. Being picked in the first round doesn't mean sucess; just ask the Raiders with Robert Gallery. However if they do work out they dominate for 10 to 12 years.



What usually dooms highly rated tackles is poor footwork. Poor footwork usually means a move to guard as was the case with Tony Mandrich and Robert Gallery.






The Broncos have a lot to look forward to with Ryan Clady. He's got the best foot agiltiy of any lineman Mike Shanahan has ever seen. That experience comes from being on 6 teams that went to the Super Bowl. Clady should be protecting Cutler for the next deacade and opening up running holes for whatever running back goes for 1,000, 1,500 or 2,000 yards in a season.