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New Orleans Saints left tackle Terron Armstead has finished too many seasons as one of the NFL’s best at what he does, but lacking the accolades his peers enjoy. He wasn’t named to the Pro Bowl until 2018 (returning in 2019), and has only cracked the AP All-Pro list once (in 2018, as a second-team entry). Sure, Armstead’s lengthy injury history has hurt his reputation, but there’s few left tackles around who combine his all-world athleticism with painstakingly-polished technique.
However, Armstead finally got his due from the list of the top 101 players of 2019 from Pro Football Focus. Players 101 through 76 have been revealed so far, and plenty of Armstead’s Saints teammates should join him. but for now, he’s the only member of the black and gold to make the cut:
76. T TERRON ARMSTEAD, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
At his best, Terron Armstead is one of the best tackles in all of football, but an in-season injury affected his play and caused him to miss time. Even his absence showed how good he is, though, as Drew Brees completely changed his game when his reliable blindside protector wasn’t in the lineup by dramatically speeding up his release. Armstead surrendered just one sack all season, including the team’s lone playoff appearance, and the sack came in that game. In total, he allowed 24 pressures across more than 600 pass-blocking snaps and remains one of the best pass blockers in football.
While this was a drop from last year’s ranking (47), Armstead placed ahead of several tackles around the league, including Tennessee Titans bookends Jack Conklin (81) and Taylor Lewan (88), Indianapolis Colts right tackle Braden Smith (92), and Atlanta Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews (96). We’ll find out in the days ahead who the analysts at Pro Football Focus ranked ahead of Armstead, but it’s great to see him getting this well-deserved recognition. Now where will Ryan Ramczyk place?
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