Luke Tobias Joeckel (; born November 6, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

second overall in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

, starting all 37 games at left tackle from 2010 to 2012. In his final year, he won the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...

, awarded to the nation's top college football interior lineman, and was named a unanimous All-American. He was also a member of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Early life

A native of

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, Joeckel attended Arlington High School, where he was an All-State offensive lineman for the

team. As a senior, he anchored an offensive line that averaged just under 475 yards per game in the 2009 season. His twin brother, Matt, played quarterback for Arlington. His older brother, David, played offensive lineman at DePauw. Joeckel's father, David, now a trial lawyer in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, was a four-year letterman and three-year starter as an offensive lineman at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

(teammates with Joe Walter), under coaches Rex Dockery and Jerry Moore, 1979–1982. His grandfather, Reece Washington, played tight end for Texas Tech. In

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, Joeckel competed in the throwing events. He had top-throws of 13.10 meters (42 ft 11 in) in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and 34.44 meters (112 ft 7 in) in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Joeckel was listed as the No. 5 offensive tackle prospect of the class of 2010, behind only Seantrel Henderson, Rob Crisp, Shon Coleman, and James Hurst. Despite growing up as a Red Raiders fan, Joeckel chose Texas A&M over Texas Tech. He also had offers from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Louisiana State,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, among others.

College career

Joeckel attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, where he played for the

Texas A&M Aggies football The Texas A&M Aggies football program represents Texas A&M University in the sport of American football. The Texas A&M Aggies, Aggies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from 2010 to 2012. He enrolled in January 2010, and went through the Aggies' spring drills. As a true freshman in 2010, Joeckel started all 13 games at left tackle. The Aggies averaged over 165.8 rushing yards per game and featured a 100-yard rusher in nine games, six of which belong to Cyrus Gray. Joeckel earned Freshman All-American honors by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

and Scout.com. As a sophomore in 2011, Joeckel started all 13 games again and was a second-team All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

noselection. He was part of an Aggies offensive front that allowed just nine sacks in 13 games and set school records for total (490.2 yards per game), passing (291.1 yards), and scoring (39.1 points) offense. As a junior in 2012, Joeckel started all 13 games at left tackle, protecting freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel's blind side as he went on to pass for 3,706 yards over the season, earning him Heisman, Manning, and O'Brien honors. Joeckel himself won the

, awarded to the nation's top college football interior lineman, and was named a unanimous All-American. NFL scouts praised his performance against Louisiana State's talented defensive line, in which Joeckel matched-up well against defensive end Sam Montgomery. "I think he is better than Joe Thomas and

Matt Kalil Matthew Francis Kalil (born July 6, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Minnesota Vik ...

," one NFL general manager said according to ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illin ...

''. Joeckel played alongside future Atlanta Falcon Jake Matthews, who played right tackle from 2010–2012. When Joeckel left Texas A&M, Matthews switched to left tackle in 2013. In September 2013, after an NFL.com writer asked five NFL executives who was the better player between Matthews and Joeckel, three of the executives said Joeckel.

Professional career

2013 NFL draft

By midseason, Joeckel was projected as a Top 10 selection in the

by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. Ranking him #1 on their "Big Board", ''

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

'' projected Joeckel as the first offensive tackle to be selected with the first overall draft pick since Jake Long in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. On January 8, 2013, Joeckel announced his decision to forgo his final year of eligibility. According to ''

'', Joeckel lacks the "natural tools" of the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

fourth overall pick

, but "is considered the more polished lineman out of the college ranks". NFL.com analysts

Gil Brandt Gilbert Harvey Brandt (March 5, 1932 – August 31, 2023) was an American professional football executive who was the vice president of player personnel in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988. He was indu ...

, Brian Billick, Scott Pioli, and Charles Davis predicted that Joeckel would be the No. 1 pick. In late January, ''Sports Illustrated'' also projected Joeckel to be the No. 1 selection. After the combine, ''Sports Illustrated'' still projected Joeckel to be the first player selected in the 2013 NFL Draft. In March 2013, Pat Kirwan of CBSSports.com, projected Joeckel to be selected fourth overall, by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. A week before the draft, the Chiefs were believed to take an offensive tackle at No. 1, after having traded for quarterback Alex Smith. Their decision reportedly came down to Joeckel and Eric Fisher. The Chiefs selected Fisher, allowing Joeckel to fall to the Jaguars, who selected him second overall. Joeckel stated that his immediate reaction to not being selected first overall was "not the most pleasant thing ever", though added that he has used it as motivation. Joeckel became the first Aggie offensive lineman selected in the first round since Richmond Webb went ninth overall to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

Despite playing at the

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

position during his college years, Joeckel began his professional career at

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

. Joeckel signed a four-year contract with the Jaguars on June 22, 2013, that included a $13.8 million signing bonus and was worth approximately $21 million. After the Jaguars traded left tackle Eugene Monroe to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

on October 1, 2013, Joeckel returned to his natural position on the left side. Joeckel's rookie season became short-lived as he played in only five games due to sustaining an ankle injury the next Sunday against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

, when Rams defensive tackle Kendall Langford rolled up Joeckel's leg. Later that day, it was announced he would miss the remainder of the season. He was placed on injured reserve on October 8. Joeckel entered his second season having recovered from the injury during his rookie season. Pro Football Focus viewed him as one of the worst offensive tackles in the NFL in 2014 and held him responsible for eight quarterback sacks. In the 2014 season, Joeckel started all 16 games at left tackle. In the 2015 season, Joeckel started 14 games at the left tackle position. On May 2, 2016, it was announced that the

would not pick up the fifth-year option on Joeckel's contract. On August 30, 2016,

coach

Gus Bradley Paul Casey "Gus" Bradley (born July 5, 1966) is an American football coach who is the current assistant head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Indian ...

announced that Joeckel would switch to the left guard position while the newly acquired free agent

Kelvin Beachum Kelvin Lee Beachum Jr. (born June 8, 1989) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs and was selected by the Pittsburgh ...

took over at left tackle. Joeckel was placed on injured reserve on October 4, 2016, following knee surgery. Overall, Joeckel started 35 games at left tackle from 2013–2015, and four games at left guard in 2016.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 11, 2017, Joeckel signed a one-year contract with the

. He started 11 games at left guard for the Seahawks in 2017.

References

External links

Texas A&M Aggies bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joeckel, Luke 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Arlington, Texas All-American college football players American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Texas A&M Aggies football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Seattle Seahawks players Under Armour All-American football players Second overall NFL draft picks