by Edgar Thompson
On the cusp of his second season, Jake Long already is considered one of the NFL’s best offensive tackles.
But the thinking is he’s not even the best OT in the 2008 rookie class, either.
Denver’s Ryan Clady is.
In the past week or so, two more lists have come out that place Long behind Clady … one by Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders calling Clady the No. 5 most-irreplaceable player and another by CBS Sportsline’s Pete Prisco, who ranks Clady No. 1 and Long No. 3 among NFL OTs.
(Prisco also ranks Clady the NFL’s 16th-best player, with Long earning honorable mention on Prisco’s top-50 list.)
Not only did Clady give up just a 1/2 sack as a rookie, Denver was the best team in the league running to left end and fifth-best running at left tackle, according to Barnwell. Long gave up 2 1/2 sacks and blocked well in the run game, but Miami struggled to generate a consistent rushing attack.
Yet, despite strong starts to their careers, Long and Clady have played just one NFL season, making these proclamations and distinctions a little premature. More – PalmBeachPost.com
