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When Roger Goodell announced Kyle Long had been selected with the 20th overall pick last year, there were a lot of Chicago Bears fans scratching their heads (read: pulling their hair out and screaming on the internet) and wondering why Phil Emery decided to seemingly reach on an offensive guard who had graded out by many experts as a 2nd or 3rd round prospect.
It didn't take long, however, for the feisty interior lineman to turn heads during training camp, and that he would provide a much-needed upgrade to an offensive line that allowed 44 sacks the year before.
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Kyle Long was the first rookie to ever start a game at right guard for the Chicago Bears, playing next to fellow rookie, RT Jordan Mills, and only gave up 1.75 sacks on the season according to Lester Wiltfong, Jr.
On January 14th, Long was named to the Pro Football Writer's All-Rookie Team.
The complete list:
2013 PFWA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: RB Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers
2013 PFWA OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: WR Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers
2013 PFWA DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: LB Kiko Alonso, Buffalo Bills
Offense
QB - Mike Glennon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
RB - Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals; Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers
WR - Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers; DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
TE - Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins
C - Travis Frederick, Dallas Cowboys
G - Kyle Long, Chicago Bears; Larry Warford, Detroit Lions
T - D.J. Fluker, San Diego Chargers; Justin Pugh, New York Giants
Defense
DL - Ziggy Ansah, Detroit Lions; Star Lotulelei, Carolina Panthers; Sheldon Richardson, New York Jets; Kawann Short, Carolina Panthers
LB - Kiko Alonso, Buffalo Bills; Sio Moore, Oakland Raiders; Alec Ogletree, St. Louis Rams
CB - Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona Cardinals; Desmond Trufant, Atlanta Falcons
S - Eric Reid, San Francisco 49ers; Kenny Vaccaro, New Orleans Saints
Special Teams
PK - Caleb Sturgis, Miami Dolphins
P - Sam Martin, Detroit Lions
KR - Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings
PR - Tavon Austin, St. Louis Rams
ST - Don Jones, Miami Dolphins
Congratulations to Kyle Long on this award... We look forward to many, many years of having him on our side!
Back on the mat today with @JayGlazer %goodtogreat %mma
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) January 15, 2014
