5. Terron Armstead, New Orleans Saints
It took a while, but Terron Armstead put together a tremendous season for the New Orleans Saints in 2019. Last year logged over 1,000 snaps for the first time in his career, and gave up just a single sack, which came in the Wild Card round in New Orleans’ victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Armstead has put in some time the past few offseasons at “OL Masterminds,” the offensive line clinic put together by Duke Manyweather and Philadelphia Eagles’ right tackle Lane Johnson. You can see some of the technical knowledge on film this past season from Armstead’s game. This video breakdown of Armstead’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars is a good place to start:
Terron Armstead & Ryan Ramczyk put on an absolute show in week 6 against two very explosive pass-rushers. Littered the film with high-level technique & teach tape.
I broke down some of it here 👇 pic.twitter.com/rIkF7WCLlT
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) October 15, 2019
Then there is this play, with an actual fake block from an offensive tackle. A thing of beauty:
This rep is just gorgeous from Armstead. This is a Jason Peters & Terron special. Fake jump set with the head fake. Throws off JPP's timing & opens up his chest. Terron puts the clamps on him & pushes him past Brees' drop. *Chef's kiss* pic.twitter.com/xFp4WlVCWq
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) November 19, 2019
Finally, if seeing a big man in space is your thing, then well, here you go:
Terron Armstead getting out in space is a beautiful thing.
Here he is in week 1 pulling, leading, and tracking down CB Bradley Roby x 2 pic.twitter.com/sVkbD1AEDC
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 11, 2019
I’ll be honest, that “fake jump set with a head fake” is reason enough to make Armstead a top five offensive tackle.