NFL First-Round Recap: Cleveland Browns

As we get ready for the Patriots-Giants Super Bowl, FanHouse is looking back at each team's 2007 first-round pick. Here's a look at the 3rd pick in the draft, left tackle, Joe Thomas.

Who They Took: Joe Thomas, T, Wisconsin

Who Else They Were Rumored to Consider: QB JaMarcus Russell, QB Brady Quinn, WR Calvin Johnson

What We Said at the Time: "By landing its franchise offensive tackle ... in the same draft, Cleveland took a big step forward."

What Thomas Did: All he did was start 16 games at left tackle and be a part of one of the best offensive lines in the league. According to Football Outsiders, the Browns o-line ranked third in run-blocking and fifth in pass-blocking. More impressive: no team was better on running plays around the left end, and only two teams were better on runs behind left tackle.

The Browns allowed just 19 sacks all season (for comparison, the Steelers gave up 47), behind only the Saints (16) and the Bengals (17).

Looking into the Future: Usually players struggle in most as rookies and then gradually improve. If Thomas continues to get better he could be the best lineman in the game. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but there's no disputing that he had a solid rookie season and there's no reason to think he won't be dominant at some point in the near future.

Would They Do It All Over? Good Lord, I hope so. At the time, the conventional wisdom had the Browns split between taking Thomas and Brady Quinn with the third-overall pick. As it turned out, they got both (see below) but wisely took Thomas first.

Grade: A+. That was easy. Thomas is a great talent, obviously, Cleveland did a nice job of revamping the entire offensive line. So Thomas, general manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel have to share the grade.

Postscript: For completeness, it's worth mentioning that the Browns also traded back into the first round to grab Brady Quinn. Cleveland traded their 2008 first-round pick to Dallas for the right to get Quinn at No. 22. At the time, it seemed like a great deal for the Cowboys, who would likely have a top-10 pick because, well, the Browns are the Browns. Didn't work out that way. One year later, the Cowboys have the ... 22nd pick. And the Browns have their backup quarterback. For now, anyway.