Joe Thomas

Joe Thomas was selected by the Cleveland Browns as the third player overall in 2007 NFL Draft. An offensive tackle, Thomas anchored the O-line at Wisconsin, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors twice. He was a unanimous All-America Team member in 2006. 

Thomas’ rookie year set the stage for his 11-season career with the Browns. Not only was he named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, Thomas earned the first of 10 consecutive Pro Bowl selections. He helped the team to a 10-6 record – the only winning record the franchise had during his tenure and the first for the team since it re-entered the League in 1999. The Browns finished the year ranked eighth in offense and fell only a game short of the playoffs. 

He finished second for AP Rookie of the Year and was the only player to receive votes outside of the award’s winner, Adrian Peterson. 

Thomas was consistent in all aspects of the game. He never missed a start – or an offensive snap – over the course of his career. He started in each of his career 167 games and amassed 10,363 consecutive snaps – widely believed to be an NFL record – before a career-ending triceps injury in Week 7 of the 2017 season ultimately led to his retirement in March 2018. 

Thomas is one of only five players in NFL history to earn a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first 10 seasons (2007-2016) – the others are Pro Football Hall of Famers MERLIN OLSEN, MEL RENFRO, BARRY SANDERS and LAWRENCE TAYLOR – and the only offensive lineman to achieve that feat. He was selected first-team All-Pro six times (2009-2011, 2013-15) and second-team All-Pro twice (2008, 2012). 

He was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s, his 10,363 consecutive snaps were added to the Browns Ring of Honor at FirstEnergy Stadium in 2018 and he was inducted into the Cleveland Browns Legends program in 2022 for the indelible impact he left on the franchise.