Spartans in the NFL: Jack Conklin is Already One of the League’s Best Right Tackles

When he was drafted #8 overall in last year’s NFL Draft, Jack Conklin was viewed by some in the draft community as a stretch. Well joke’s on them. According to ProFootballFocus, Conklin is STILL among the NFL’s Top 5 rookies. Conklin makes a strong case foe Rookie of the Year and, If not for Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott (and being a right tackle), might be getting some more national love.

Check out what PFF’s Michael Renner had to say this past week.

Michael Renner’s Week 14 take: In nearly any other season, Titans RT Jack Conklin would be a shoo-in for PFF’s Rookie of the Year. He’s putting together a rookie season the likes of which we haven’t seen since Dallas LT Tyron Smith’s in 2011. The right tackle has become an NFL wasteland, with almost every team treating it as an afterthought at this point. With Philadelphia RT Lane Johnson out, Conklin has graded out as far and away the best right tackle in the league, and he’s already a top-notch pass protector. If his 96.1 pass-blocking efficiency holds up, it will be the best by a rookie since Matt Kalil in 2012.

The rest of Renner’s Top 5 for week 14 includes Elliott, Prescott, Jack Conklin, Joey Bosa, and Chris Jones, in that order. This order is the same ranking from Week 13 so these five rookies remain pretty consistent.

Jack continues to play so well that he is already considered not just one of the NFL’s top notch rookies, but one of the league’s best right tackles. He is posting the best pass blocking efficiency rating since guys like Tyron Smith and Matt Kalil, as stated above. Not bad company!

It would be tough to beat out the wonder twins in Dallas, but Spartan Fans can take pride in the former walk-on turning into a full-blow NFL stud.