The Browns had two of the NFL's best on the same offensive line for seven seasons.
That's how the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 48-member selection committee officially viewed it Monday when it unveiled its All-Decade team for the 2010s. Left tackle Joe Thomas, who logged 10,363 consecutive snaps from 2007-2017, was a unanimous selection while center Alex Mack, who played his first seven seasons in Cleveland, was one of two from his position named to the team.
The Browns were one of two teams to put multiple offensive linemen on the team, with the Cowboys (Tyron Smith and Zack Martin) being the others. It marks the second straight time Cleveland has had multiple All-Decade players, as RB Jamal Lewis and KR Josh Cribbs made the 2000s team.
Since beginning play in 1946, the Browns have had at least one representative on the league's All-Decade team. The Browns have now had 19 players make an All-Decade team, including 12 Hall of Famers.
The 55-member team is the result of votes cast over the last several weeks by the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 48-member selection committee. Only players who received at least one selection to a Pro Bowl, Associated Press All-Pro team or Pro Football Writers Association all-conference team during the 2010-19 seasons were eligible.
Thomas was one of eight unanimous selections, joining quarterback Tom Brady, defensive tackle Aaron Donald, linebacker Von Miller, running back Adrian Peterson, kicker Justin Tucker, defensive end J.J. Watt and guard Marshall Yanda.
The third overall pick in the 2007 draft, Thomas played every offensive snap for the Browns from his rookie season through Week 7 in 2017, when he sustained a torn triceps that ended his consecutive snaps streak at 10,363. His Iron Man stretch, which consisted of 167 consecutive games, is believed to be the longest consecutive snaps streak in NFL history.
Thomas became the fifth player and the only lineman in NFL history to be selected to the Pro Bowl each of his first 10 seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Lawrence Taylor, Mel Renfro and Merlin Olsen. Thomas' 10 Pro Bowls are a team record, surpassing Hall of Famers Jim Brown (nine) and Lou Groza (nine). Thomas was the longest tenured member of the Browns and was selected to the Associated Press All-Pro team eight times, including six first-team honors.
Mack was a first round pick by the Browns in 2009 and was with the team through the 2015 season. He appeared in 101 games with the Browns and was selected to three of his six career Pro Bowls while with the Browns. He became only the third Browns center to earn multiple Pro Bowl selections, joining John Morrow (1962, 1964) and Tom DeLeone (1980, 1981). Mack started all 85 games and played 5,279 consecutive snaps to begin his Browns career, with the streak ending in the second quarter of Week 6 of the 2014 season vs. Pittsburgh (10/12), when he fractured his fibula.
Mack signed with the Falcons in 2016 and is still with the organization as he enters his 12th NFL season.
