Fantasy Index

Factoid

Left Tackles

Nearly two-thirds are first-rounders

Working on the offensive line story for the magazine. It's interesting to look at where the players come from -- what round they were originally drafted in. Especially at left tackle, generally believed to be the most important position.

By the numbers, nearly half (76) of the 160 projected starters on the offensive line this year were selected in the first two rounds of the draft. Now, some of them might be starting in large part because they were drafted early -- teams not yet giving up on them or being able to replace them -- but most are there because they're the best players.

At left tackle, it's particularly top-heavy. Of the 32 projected starters, 19 were selected in the first round. Three more were selected in the second round, and two in the third. That's 75 percent of the starters selected in the first three rounds.

Of the remaining eight, nearly all of them were either undrafted (4) or taken in the seventh (3). Basically if you're not drafted in the first round, you're more likely to make it in the NFL as an undrafted free agent than if you're selected in any other round of the draft.

The 32 projected starters at left tackle, and draft status, are shown below.

STARTING LEFT TACKLES
TeamPlayerDraft
ArizonaJared Veldheer3rd
AtlantaJake Matthews1st
BaltimoreRonnie Stanley1st
BuffaloCordy Glenn2nd
CarolinaMichael Oher1st
ChicagoCharles Leno7th
CincinnatiAndrew Whitworth2nd
ClevelandJoe Thomas1st
DallasTyron Smith 1st
DenverRussell Okung1st
DetroitRiley Reiff1st
Green BayDavid Bakhtiari4th
HoustonDuane Brown1st
IndianapolisAnthony Castonzo1st
JacksonvilleKelvin Beachum7th
Kansas CityEric Fisher1st
LA RamsGreg Robinson1st
MiamiBrandon Albert1st
MinnesotaMatt Kalil1st
New EnglandNate Solder1st
New OrleansTerron Armstead3rd
NY GiantsEreck Flowers1st
NY JetsRyan Clady1st
OaklandDonald PennUDFA
PhiladelphiaJason PetersUDFA
PittsburghAllejandro VillanuevaUDFA
San DiegoKing Dunlap7th
San FranciscoJoe Staley1st
SeattleGarry GilliamUDFA
Tampa BayDonovan Smith2nd
TennesseeTaylor Lewan1st
WashingtonTrent Williams1st

--Andy Richardson

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