ESPN's John Clayton unveiled his 2011 All-Pro team this afternoon, and with only one left tackle to choose, Clayton was wise to pick the Browns' Joe Thomas. His reasoning?
Injuries at the end of the season knocked out Jake Long and re-established Thomas as the top left tackle in football. He gave up only 3.5 sacks for a young quarterback and a struggling offense in a division that featured three playoff teams.
Three other players from the AFC North made Clayton's list: FB Vonta Leach, DT Haloti Ngata, OLB Terrell Suggs, DT Geno Atkins, and S Troy Polamalu. Looking at the list, it's amazing to think how good of a pass rusher guys like Jared Allen (22 sacks) and DeMarcus Ware (19.5 sacks) are. I'm crowing about Jabaal Sheard's season, but he's still well shy of even approaching those type of numbers.
Are there any positions on Clayton's list that you disagree with?