While it's hard to tell who the best offensive tackle in the game is today by stats, when we posed the question to our analysts, the choice was clear.
Steve Wyche: Not your average Joe
What's interesting about this discussion is that for such a valued position, there simply aren't many dominant left tackles in the league. Cleveland's Joe Thomas is considered the best in the business at the moment because of his toughness, relentlessness and ability to pass protect. He's a perennial Pro Bowl selection and is widely respected by his peers since it's hard for anyone to recognize much else about Cleveland's offense -- although Peyton Hillis rushed for more than 1,100 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.
Pat Kirwan: Close call among four
The truth is there aren't many great offensive tackles. I narrowed the group down to four: Jake Long, Joe Thomas, Ryan Clady, and Michael Roos, who is the senior guy in this group with 96 starts. Roos has only been called for holding three times in his career and gives up a sack only once every 3.2 games. Thomas is next in seniority with 64 starts. He has just five holds in his career and gives up a sack once every 3.3 games. Clady and Long each have 48 starts. Clady has just five false starts, four holding calls and given up 16 sacks in his career. A holding call about once a season and a sack once every three games keeps him in this conversation. Long has a holding call every seven games, which is last in this group, but gives up a sack just once every 3.4 games -- the best by a slight margin. Can't go wrong with any of these guys, but Roos wins in a close call.
Jason la Canfora: Best of his generation
Joe Thomas is a technician and a tactician and a bull of a man out on the edge. He could well go down as the best left tackle of his era. If played somewhere other than Cleveland, we'd here an awful lot more about him. He faces some of the truly, truly elite defenses for at least a quarter of his games every season and comes out unscathed. Ask the guys in Baltimore and Pittsburgh who the best offensive lineman is. Thomas would get a ton of votes.
Charles Davis: Complete package
The Browns are still trying to definitively answer their perpetual quarterback question, but as far as who will protect that person when he emerges it's clearly Joe Thomas. The first time I saw him work out at Wisconsin, I truly wondered if he was a tight end. Carrying about 315 pounds like it was 270, the lightness on his feet, the heavy hands to "punch" defenders, the requisite "nasty" attitude to finish blocks. He's the total package and will continue to make Pro Bowls for years to come.
Vic Carucci: One stands at the top
Joe Thomas is the easy choice here. He has every physical quality that you could want in an offensive tackle -- size, strength, agility -- but he also has the ideal mindset. Thomas combines a true nasty streak that is contagious with a controlled, business-like approach to the job that usually prevents his emotions from getting the better of him, particularly critical for an offensive tackle. He quickly established himself as the leader of an offense that, since has arrival in Cleveland, has mostly lacked any true stars. Thomas has been a stabilizing force amid multiple changes in the coaching staff and offensive philosophies. There are other good tackles, but none is Thomas' equal when it comes to being consistently effective in run-blocking and pass-protection.
