Ranking the Left Tackles from Last Season

Ranking the Top 35 Left Tackles from 2014 By Matt Miller , NFL Draft Lead Writer Jun 3, 2015 Who is the best player in the NFL? Not based on the last 10 years, or one game, but over the last year, who was the best? Good luck answering that one without starting a fight, right?Well, that's what the NFL 1000 aims to do by scouting, grading and then ranking the best players at each position before putting them in order and breaking ties to come up with the top 1,000 players. No narratives, no fantasy football points, no "QBR", this is cold-hard scouting.The B/R 1000 metric is based heavily on scouting each player and grading the key criteria for each position. The criteria are weighted according to importance for a possible best score of 100.Potential is not taken into consideration. Neither are career accomplishments.Left tackles are judged, quite simply, on pass blocking (50 points), run blocking (45) and their value as a starter or backup (5).In the case of ties, our team asked, "Which player would I rather have on my team?" and set the rankings accordingly.Subjective? Yes. But ties are no fun.Each player was scouted by me and a team of experienced evaluators (Dan Bazal, Cian Fahey, Dan Hope, Marshal Miller, Justis Mosqueda), with these key criteria in mind. The following scouting reports and grades are the work of months of film study from our team.All statistics from Pro Football Focus. Players' heights, weights and seasons played from NFL.com.35. Jake Matthews, Atlanta Falcons34. Byron Bell, Tennessee Titans33. Matt Kalil, Minnesota Vikings32. James Hurst, Baltimore Ravens31. Eric Fisher, Kansas City Chiefs30. Greg Robinson, St. Louis Rams29. Luke Joeckel, Jacksonville Jaguars28. Anthony Collins, Free Agent (Played 2014 with Tampa Bay)27. Eugene Monroe, Baltimore Ravens26. David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers25. Jermon Bushrod, Chicago Bears24. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, New York Jets23. Ryan Clady, Denver Broncos22. Jake Long, Free Agent (Played 2014 with St. Louis)21. Nate Solder, New England Patriots20. King Dunlap, San Diego Chargers19. Riley Reiff, Detroit Lions18. Russell Okung, Seattle Seahawks17. Michael Roos, Tennessee Titans (Retired in 2015 Offseason)16. Cordy Glenn, Buffalo Bills15. Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans14. Terron Armstead, New Orleans Saints 13. Donald Penn, Oakland Raiders 12. William Beatty, New York Giants11. Trent Williams, Washington Redskins10. Anthony Castonzo, Indianapolis Colts9. Duane Brown, Houston Texans8. Kelvin Beachum, Pittsburgh Steelers7. Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys6. Jared Veldheer, Arizona Cardinals5. Branden Albert, Miami Dolphins 4. Joe Staley, San Francisco 49ers3. Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati Bengals2. Jason Peters, Philadelphia Eagles1. Joe Thomas, Cleveland BrownsDavid Richard/Associated Press Pass/Block    47/50Joe Thomas (6’6”, 312 lbs, eight seasons) dominated pass-rushers again in 2014, showing the balance and the power protecting the edge that makes him the gold standard of left tackle play. Through 16 games, he had few hiccups, and only then, it was against speed-rushers teeing off on an offense that lacked talent at quarterback and wide receiver. Thomas’ play, when viewed in the scope of the offense, was top-notch once again, as he allowed just two sacks the entire season.For the complete breakdown on every player....link