Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson became one of the league's better tackles by studying the greats, including former Browns left tackle, Joe Thomas.
During a recent sit-down interview with NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger, Johnson explained what he learned from watching Thomas, per Curtis Crabtree of ProFootballTalk.com.
“One thing I remember watching from the Joe Thomas film,” Johnson explained, “was whenever he talked about power and one thing that he did whenever he talked about the bull rush was they’re trying to generate their power through you and whenever you get your ankles, knees and hands in alignment and it kind of forces that power up.”
“And that’s what I try to do with pass protection,” Johnson said. “I’m not trying to be too violent, sometimes I’ll throw one arm in there but really I’m trying to go under for the most part.”
Whatever Johnson is doing, it's clearly been working. The Oklahoma product has made the Pro Bowl each of the last two seasons and was a first-team All-Pro in 2017. The fourth overall pick of the 2013 draft, Johnson received Pro Football Focus' 12th-best grade of any tackle last year.
Thomas, who is often regarded as one of the best linemen of all time, recently retired after spending 11 years with the Browns. Thomas now works for NFL Network, and it sounds like Johnson could join him in the analyst game whenever he decides to hang up his cleats.
For now, though Johnson has work to do with the Eagles, and should have plenty of years left. Philadelphia has had a great run of success the past couple of years, and Johnson has been a large part of the reason why.
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