To preview the 2020 NFL season, we asked more than 50 league executives, coaches, scouts and players to help us stack the top 10 players at 11 different positions (sorry, special-teamers). The results might surprise you. They surprised me.
Here's how it worked: Voters gave their best 10 to 15 players at a position, then we compiled the results and ranked candidates based on number of top-10 votes, composite average, interviews and research. We had several ties, so we broke them by isolating the two-man matchup with additional voting and follow-up calls. Each section is packed with quotes and nuggets from the voters on every guy -- even the honorable mentions.
The objective is to identify the best players right now for 2020. This is not a five-year projection or an achievement award. Who's the best today? Pretty simple.
We'll roll out a position per day over the next 11 days. Here's the schedule:
Week 1: tight ends (July 7); quarterbacks (July 8); running backs (July 9); wide receivers (July 10); offensive tackles (July 11)
Week 2: interior offensive linemen (July 12); edge defenders (July 13); interior defensive linemen (July 14); off-ball linebackers (July 15); cornerbacks (July 16); safeties (July 17)
Judging good offensive tackles isn't as simple as who gives up sacks or commits penalties. There's playcall context, pre-snap protections, elite quarterbacks who can escape traffic, schemes that mask blocking deficiencies. There's good pressure and bad pressure, five blockers who must work in unison.
The truly good ones stand out. That's why a 38-year-old free agent (Jason Peters) got a No. 1 vote from a veteran pass rusher out of sheer respect.
Other big-name players at the position haven't lost their fastball just yet, fending off ascending players from taking their spot.
We asked execs, coaches and players from around the league to sort it all out.
1. Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys
Age: 29 | Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 11
Smith dominated the voting, which was a bit of a surprise because he misses time due to injury nearly every year. But many evaluators came to the conclusion: He's still Tyron Smith. Maybe he has dropped from 100 to a 94, but his 94 is still better than everyone.
"Watched him closely and was expecting a dropoff in play, but it's not there," an NFC exec said. "He's got the injury stuff. But when he's healthy and on, he's still really, really good. He's still on another planet as far as a dominant two-phase player."
Smith allowed one sack and committed five holding flags in 13 games.
One high-ranking exec thought Smith, 29, has gotten stiffer with age, with more waist bend, but still length and running ability to flourish. His Pro Football Focus rating came in at 76.6.
Voters insist this isn't a rep thing -- he's still the gold standard.
"He's a little like Joe Thomas in that you think you can get him, that he's older and beat up, and then you play him and you're taking shots and you're reminded this guy is a beast," one NFL offensive coach said.
2. Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans
Age: 25 | Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 10
The Texans overinflated the tackle market by paying Tunsil $22 million per year on a new deal, but they aren't paying for second-tier talent. Tunsil has worked his way into premier status.
The league is higher on Tunsil than the media is, with many voters placing him inside their top five after his first year in the AFC South.
"One of league's more improved players," one long-time NFL defensive assistant said. "He was garbage early, but part of that was Miami using him all over the place. He improved tremendously from years three to four and turned into a legitimate player."
Added an NFC exec: "He's got one of the best combinations of natural traits and violence for the position. More physical than most."
Houston's offensive line isn't great, but Tunsil did his part by winning on 91.5% of his pass-blocking matchups.
Coaches say Tunsil has obvious traits -- including good feet -- for the position, despite committing a jarring 17 penalties in 2019, according to NFLpenalties.com.
"That gas mask incident took him out of the top 10 [in 2016], but he should have gone way higher," a separate defensive assistant said. "Everyone could see that he was an elite guy."
3. Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
Age: 31 | Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: 6
Williams left the game on top, and he's back without giving up much ground.
"He was dominant the last few years he played, and now he's well-rested," an NFL defensive assistant coach said. "I expect him to dominate again."
Williams' nearly two-year absence from football due to a nasty holdout with Washington affected some voters, but Williams dominated Pro Football Focus ratings from 2017 to '19 with an overall 89.7 clip.
One AFC exec said Williams' transition to San Francisco could be the best and worst thing for him, because he sometimes gets lazy on run blocks to the back side, which the 49ers emphasize.
"If he's motivated in that area, he can clean up because he's got everything else," the exec said.
4. Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore Ravens
Age: 26 | Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 11
Stanley is a bit of an acquired taste. Those who love him really love him, resulting in multiple first-place votes. He's an anchor for the league's best rushing attack, has ideal traits for pass blocking and is about to get seriously paid.
"Had his best year as a pass blocker," one AFC exec said. "He's right there among the game's best."
Conversely, one NFC exec called him a great athlete but more a "finesse" player, citing a Ravens offense that helps him with heavy run sets, play-action and a quarterback in Lamar Jackson who escapes sacks.
"He doesn't take over with as much power as you'd like, given his talent" an NFL defensive assistant said. "If you ask him to move a big pass rusher, that's not really his game down-in, down-out."
Hard to argue with his 88.5 Pro Football Focus ranking in 2019, third highest on this list.
5. Terron Armstead, New Orleans Saints
Age: 28 | Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: 8
Armstead's 82.4% pass block win rate is worst among this group, but that number doesn't tell the whole story. Armstead allowed one sack in 579 pass-blocking attempts, per Pro Football Focus, and he's an anchor for one of the best offenses in football.
Durability looms large with Armstead, who has missed a combined 20 games since 2016. But the word "complete" has been used a lot with a player who can do a little bit of everything. Most voters had him in their top five.
"He can play with leverage and can move people in the run game," an NFC exec said. "That's rare."
Armstead is still sneaky good. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2018, after six seasons, and he has never made it past All-Pro second team. And some believe his counterpart in New Orleans, right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, might be better.
But Armstead is a player coaches and scouts consistently place in the top three.
"Very athletic and knows how to pass pro," added an AFC scout.
6. Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles
Age: 30 | Highest ranking: 3 | Lowest ranking: 12
Johnson has been doing serious work at right tackle for a while now, and 2019 featured some of his best. Johnson produced the highest run-blocking grade on Pro Football Focus and won on 90.2% of his pass blocks while committing a respectable four penalties.
But his career wasn't always trending that way in the eyes of some.
"Along lines of Tunsil -- didn't think much of him early, turned into a quality starting tackle," a long-time defensive assistant said. "I thought he was a bust, but to his credit, he changed the conversation."
Johnson is an ideal fit for today's NFL that prioritizes athleticism in space, with one executive calling him "on a different level" than most from an athletical standpoint.
"Nowadays there aren't any power-type guys where you say, 'Oh man, he's so powerful,'" an AFC exec said. "Aren't a lot of guys who create movement. It's about matching up athletically and giving your offense time. And Lane can do that."
7. David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers
Age: 28 | Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: 10
A voting logjam from three to six hurt Bakhtiari, who didn't get as many top-three nods as players ahead of him. But his scouting reports are so clean that there'd be little argument with him occupying a higher spot.
I love this description from one veteran NFL pass rusher on Bakhtiari: "A big dancing beard," noting Bakhtiari's supreme quickness.
"Tough, nasty and can move," an AFC exec said.
Bakhtiari's 95.7 pass block win rate in 2019 topped all offensive tackles. And he helped catapult Aaron Jones into the Packers' history books with a franchise-high 23 total touchdowns in a single year (regular season and playoffs).
The complaints about Bakhtiari's game aren't major: Others might be more imposing athletically, and Aaron Rodgers' ability to throw on the run to his left or right helps if Bakhtiari gets beat inside.
But as far as consistency and production, he's unquestionably elite.
8. Ryan Ramczyk, New Orleans Saints
Age: 26 | Highest ranking: 4 | Lowest ranking: 11
Ramczyk is making a compelling argument as the best right tackle in football. In three seasons, he became the first Saints tackle since Willie Roaf to make two Associated Press All-Pro teams. Last year, he earned an astounding 90.9 Pro Football Focus grade.
Many evaluators believe Armstead is slightly better overall.
"But [Ramczyk] is the better run blocker among the two," an NFL coordinator said. "He absolutely gets after it and wants to finish every play."
Since Ramczyk entered the league, the Saints have allowed a league-low 65 sacks as a team. Ramczyk is a vital part of that production. Many evaluators agree that Johnson is the more imposing right tackle overall, but Ramczyk aims to change that.
9. Trent Brown, Las Vegas Raiders
Age: 27 | Highest ranking: 3 | Lowest ranking: 15
Brown might the hardest player to gauge on this list, because his inconsistency bothers some.
There's a lot of "what could be" talk with Brown, whose talent is as immense as his 6-foot-8, 380-pound frame.
"When he's on, he's as good as anybody in the NFL," a long-time NFL defensive coach said. "Definitely some inconsistency in his game, some lapses in focus, concentration. But particularly as a run blocker, he's as dominating as there is -- when he wants to be."
That coach went on to say if he had, say, Mitchell Schwartz's mind in Brown's body, you'd have Anthony Munoz.
"Wildly talented," an NFC exec said. "One thing that scares you is the weight. But when you see an almost 400-pound man move as nimble as he does, can bend knees and play with leverage and move people like that, he could be special."
Here's the inconsistency: His pass block win rate is 92.3%, second highest in the group, but his Pro Football Focus grade is the lowest (69.1).
10. Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans
Age: 28 | Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: Off the ballot
Lewan might carry the sharpest edge of any tackle who takes the field on Sundays, which is mostly good.
"There's a physical toughness and demeanor I truly respect," an AFC exec said. "He does become his own worst enemy, loses temper, stupid penalties. But he's got such a nastiness to him. Probably not a dominating player every down, but really good."
Those who are high on Lewan praise his athleticism and willingness to play hard every snap. And he won on 91.8% of his pass-blocking snaps.
"If you get into his chest, he'll get walked back sometimes," an NFL coordinator said. "But athletically gifted and nasty."
Honorable mention
La'el Collins, Dallas Cowboys: "Tyron gets a lot of the shine but Collins is really good. He finishes plays really well, good athlete." -- AFC exec
Duane Brown, Seattle Seahawks: "Still very good, but best years behind him." -- NFC exec
Mitchell Schwartz, Kansas City Chiefs: "He doesn't pass any eyeball test, measurables, numbers. He's just so effective. Off the charts in terms of football IQ. Hard to put him in the elite category." -- NFL defensive coach
Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills: "He's got everything you want. He's just inconsistent. Nimble feet, anchor, punch." -- NFC exec
Alejandro Villanueva, Pittsburgh Steelers: "Unique body type, effective in an unorthodox way. Steady, not dominant." -- AFC scout
Anthony Castonzo, Indianapolis Colts: "Good enough to win with. Really good player, and I can see why the Colts love him, but he's not at the top level." -- AFC scout