85. Ryan Kalil, C, Panthers

Kalil's leadership and physical acumen make him one of the NFL's best.

Doug Farrar | Jul 11, 2016

85. Ryan Kalil, C, Panthers /

Kalil has been with the Panthers since 2007, which means he's been through both the dog days of the Jimmy Clausen era and the current days with Cam Newton and the most diverse power-based system in the league. Kalil isn't your traditional power-blocker at 6' 3" and 399 pounds, but he understands how to use leverage extremely well, and he blocks at the second level as well as anyone in the league. Moreover, he's in charge of the line calls for a very diverse run game, and a passing game that's getting better every year. Kalil should always be on the list of players whose football acumen has allowed them to transcend their perceived physical limitations.

Published Jul 11, 2016

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.