One Position That Pans Out

Before the Miami Dolphins announced they had signed Jake Long to a contract there were many who felt there was no way that the Dolphins would “waste” the #1 overall pick on an offensive lineman. Many mock drafts had Virginia defensive end Chris Long, LSU defensive tackle Glen Dorsey or Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan as the player the Dolphins would choose if they stayed at #1 overall. Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland even made his infamous slip during a press conference talking about the team's top pick when he stated “This is the first pick in the draft. This guy is going to be -- you hope that he's a pillar of your defense for a long time."  This seemed to put some people at ease who were worried that offensive tackle Jake Long was being targeted with the #1 pick.
 
Days later came the news that Miami had reached an agreement with Jake Long to be the first off the board. This would mark the third time a lineman had been selected #1 overall (1968 Ron Yary selected by the Minnesota Vikings and 1997 Orlando Pace selected by the St. Louis Rams). There seemed to be a large outcry from the football community from fans to NFL front office personnel saying the top overall pick shouldn’t be used on a player who doesn’t play a “skill position.”
 
Why wouldn’t the top pick be used on an offensive lineman? Look at the statistics and you start to see why this pick not only fits the Dolphins needs but from a historical standpoint makes a lot of sense.
 
First of all just look at the previous top choices overall at the position. First you have Ron Yary, all he did was serve as a cornerstone of the Minnesota Vikings offensive line for 14 years and is now in the Hall of Fame. Yary went to seven Pro Bowls, appeared in four Super Bowls and only missed 2 games due to injury while being named the NFLPA top offensive lineman in the NFL from 1973-1975. Orlando Pace was considered to be one of the top linemen in the NFL for a 5-6 year period and is still active to this day. Pace won a Super Bowl in 1999 and has been to seven Pro Bowls. So between Yary and Pace you have a total of 14 Pro Bowls with Six Super Bowl appearances.
 
I think it’s safe to say that both the Vikings and the Rams were justified in picking these players who didn’t line up at “skill positions” as the #1 pick overall in their respective drafts.
 
Sure, these guys were taken at the top of the draft board, aren’t all players taken #1 overall supposed to make an impact. Yes, they are supposed to but start looking at players who play at the so-called skill positions. Take a look at quarterbacks taken in the draft over the last 15 years and you find what equates to a 50/50 split between guys who made a lasting impact on their team and guys who were considered busts and bounced from the league after a very short tenure. For every Peyton Manning there is a Ryan Leaf and for every John Elway there is a Todd Blackledge. This has gone on for years and the same can be said for other offensive positions like running back and wide receiver. For every Barry Sanders there is a Blair Thomas and for every Randy Moss there is a Michael Westbrook. All positions have players that excel and players that fall way short of expectations. But one of the positions that proven to be a “sure thing” has been offensive tackle.
 
The proof is in the pudding:
 
Draft               Top Lineman                                      Comments
2007 #3           Joe Thomas-Cleveland             Went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie.
 
2006 #4           D’Brickashaw Ferguson-NY Jets         Playing well in New York.
 
2005 #13         Jammal Brown-New Orleans                Played a number of 

                                                                               positions and has played in a Pro Bowl.
 
2004 #2           Robert Gallery-Oakland                       Swing and a miss here.
 
2003 #8           Jordan Gross-Carolina              Solid lineman who was franchised to
                                                                                    the tune of 7.4 million for the 2008          
                                                                                    season.
 
2002 #4           Mike Williams-Buffalo              Inconsistent and injury plagued, 
                                                                                    considered a bust.
 
2001 #2           Leonard Davis-Arizona             Started kind of slow but transition to
                                                                                    guard has made him a very
                                                                                    dependable player, selected to his
                                                                                    first Pro Bowl in 2007.
 
2000 #3           Chris Samuels – Washington             One of the best in the NFC, has been
                                                                                    to 5 Pro Bowls.
 
1999 #14         John Tait – Kansas City                        Not a dominant lineman but very
                                                                                    productive and was vital to the       
                                                                                    Chiefs line early in the decade.
 
1998 #7           Kyle Turley – St. Louis             Back problems had him miss a lot of
                                                                                    time but early in his career he was a  
                                                                                    very dependable player and went to a 
                                                                                    pair of Pro Bowls.
 
1997 #1           Orlando Pace – St. Louis                      Have already spoken to his
                                                                                    dominance.
 
1996 #4           Jonathan Ogden – Baltimore                 First pick as a franchise for the
                                                                                    Ravens. The 11-time Pro Bowler will
                                                                                    also be the first in Canton wearing        
                                                                                   purple that wasn’t a member of the
                                                                                   Minnesota Vikings.
 
1995 #2          Toni Boselli – Jacksonville               Jacksonville used their first ever pick
                                                                                  on an offensive lineman. Boselli was 
                                                                                  right there with Ogden as best in the
                                                                                  AFC. Injuries cut his career short but
                                                                                  he went to 5 Pro Bowls and we would
                                                                                  be talking about him going to Canton
                                                                                  had he played longer.
 
1994 #14        Bernard Williams – Philadelphia       Never lived up to the hype.
 
1993 #8          Willie Roaf – New Orleans                11 Pro Bowls and will get Hall of
                                                                                   Fame consideration.
 
 
So we just went back through the last 15 NFL Drafts and I count a total of three players that can be called busts. And we didn’t even touch upon the top offensive guards taken in that period which include active Pro Bowl players like Steve Hutchinson, Shawn Andrews and Alan Faneca.
 
Sure we love watching offense and teams that put points on the board. It’s more exciting for 4 out of every 5 football fans to see a 35-31 shootout vice a 12-10 defensive stalemate. But it’s time offensive tackles get some love in this game. When I hear that offensive lineman don’t play a “skill position” it makes me cringe. When starting a team from scratch you want to find that franchise quarterback. Isn’t it just as important to find a player who will protect the blindside of what many times is your single greatest investment for the next 10 years.
 
Only time will tell whether or not the Dolphins made the right pick but when you look back through recent drafts history is on their side.

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