Quote Originally Posted by bmorecareful View Post
From what I've seen he's been absolutely lockdown in pass protection this year. He dominated Aldon Smith and Julius Peppers (twice!) and held his own against Clay Matthews among others. I think he's only given up like 2 or 3 sacks total this year and not many pressures/hurries.

You don't step into the NFC North and lock down the LT position without being elite or close to elite, especially with a QB like Christian Ponder who is extremely tentative and holds the ball anyway. Kalil has shown more than enough in year 1 to make it at least into the second tier.
Fair enough. I really haven't watched too many Vikings games this year. I'm just always reserved when gauging rookies because you never know. Look at Jake Long.