Can Ja'Wuan James Fill in for Branden Albert at Left Tackle?

When the Miami Dolphins signed left tackle Branden Albert in the opening moments of free agency, general manager Dennis Hickey made a powerful statement. The Dolphins wanted the best man to protect their quarterback and were willing to pay the price, giving Albert a five-year, $47 million deal.

In Miami’s loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the most devastating blow wasn’t the final score. It was the news that Albert had suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee, according to James Walker of ESPN.com. The injury is expected to keep him out of action for nine to 12 months.

What Albert meant on the field is hard to quantify. After the game, quarterback Ryan Tannehill said that he "love[s] the guy to death." Outside of his leadership and presence, Albert was a dominant player for the Dolphins.

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Branden Albert had the 3rd-highest @PFF pass block grade of any left tackle heading into today. Massive loss for the Dolphins.

— Pete Damilatis (@PFF_Pete) November 9, 2014"

Until his injury, Albert was delivering the type of season Miami could have only hoped for. He allowed just three sacks and six hurries on Tannehill, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Even better, his cumulative grade of 17 was the fourth best in the NFL.

Just in terms of that production, it’ll be nearly impossible to replicate the stability that Albert provided. He was surprisingly effective in the run game after having a reputation for struggling in that area earlier in his career.

But Miami must move on as its quest for the playoffs faces a major roadblock against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football.

For the most part, major injuries happen to every team, every year. Miami has been fortunate in this regard, avoiding such an injury to one of its superstar players in recent seasons. But it was going to happen eventually. It’s the nature of the game.

That leaves 2014 first-round pick Ja’Wuan James to move from his career position of right tackle over to the blind side. He has logged a small number of snaps at left tackle in the regular season in the Dolphins’ blowout of the Chargers, and obviously when Albert went down, he played the entire second half against the Lions.

Before the draft, experts had mentioned that James could excel at left tackle if he were in a situation that required him to play there.

Nolan Nawrocki of NFL.com had this to say of James: “Big, strong, heavy pass protector with good balance, anchor strength and hand use to handle power and speed. Does not affect the run game the same way and almost appears more destined for the left side in the pros. Has instant-starter potential.”

That evaluation sums up how James has played this season well. He’s been very good for the Dolphins, allowing just two sacks as the right tackle of the Dolphins, according to PFF. Getting such good play from the tackles is a vast difference from what Miami saw in 2013. Considering James is just a rookie, the future seems extremely bright for him.

Left tackle is a new challenge for James, though. James played exclusively at right tackle at the University of Tennessee in his 49 starts, according to his Volunteers biography. Can he handle it? Well, let’s take a look at how he played against the Lions.

Pass Blocking

James’ strongest aspect of his game is his pass-blocking ability. He’s got tremendous size and length, with 35-inch arms and a 6’6” frame. Those qualities allow him to stone defenders on their initial pass-rush move by guiding them into the guard or around the pocket completely.

Being on the left side, James is more likely to face speed rushers than power rushers. Teams generally run more to the right side, so defenses respond by putting their strongest end on that side and allow their athletes to play weak side to reach the quarterback.

That emphasizes James’ pass-blocking skill. Take a look at how James uses his length in the screen shot below. He pushes the end around the pocket to effectively eliminate that threat.

NFL Game Rewind

What makes this possible is his plus agility during his kick-slide back. He’s a smooth athlete and, when combined with his hand placement and length, a very capable blocker.

With strong hands and the ability to reset his placement when the defender makes a counter move, he pancakes the defender in the next screen shot. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a speed move inside or out—James can handle it.

NFL Game Rewind

A point of emphasis with tackles is how balanced they stay to mirror the actions of the rusher. This involves shoulder squared with the feet and staying bouncy by keeping the knees bent. Since the lineman has to absorb contact and then blow back to neutralize the rush, James has to explode out of his balanced stance at the right time. He sets himself up for this well below.

NFL Game Rewind

As a pass-blocker, James doesn’t have the experience or muscle to really be as effective as Albert was. That’s just the situation for a rookie who hasn’t had a full offseason to build mass and improve upon his weaknesses. But James is certainly a capable left tackle for the Dolphins.

Run Blocking

The biggest weakness in James’ game is as a run-blocker. Back to the point above, he does not have the mass to really make up for his lack of leg drive. At right tackle, this was more prevalent than it will be now, however.

Albert was an excellent run-blocker because of his athleticism and ability to reach second-level defenders and seal blocks. James will have more opportunities to do so now because he will be on the weak side of runs, so he doesn’t have to account for the defender directly in front of him as often.

But when he has to take on the man in his zone, he must use his legs and stay low to push the defender back. He must handle power rushers more effectively by getting his pad level lower and winning the leverage battle.

On the inside zone run play below, we see him struggling in this fashion. He is the only lineman not pushing the defender downfield. This comes back to his lower body and his stance. He is not low enough to jolt and drive the defender backward. Instead, he is nearly standing straight up.

NFL Game Rewind

Conclusion

Ja’Wuan James has been a major bright spot for the rebuilt Dolphins offensive line, and he should continue to be an above-average tackle for the team, despite the move. An argument that he will be even better at left tackle could certainly be made due to the points we touched on.

Miami will have to experiment at the right tackle spot with Dallas Thomas and possibly Billy Turner, but don’t expect a huge drop-off from the left side with James there. The Dolphins are fortunate and were wise to grab such a talented player in the first round of the 2014 draft. If they didn’t have him, the position would be a disaster like it was in 2013.

Ian Wharton is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, contributor for Optimum Scouting and analyst for FinDepth. 

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