Joe Thomas, Former Browns Offensive Lineman

All righty, our number three of our radio program, it is the Zach Elb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We should have in a matter of moments the Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas is going to stop by. He was drafted in 2007. He was the third overall selection by the Cleveland Browns and it could have been one of the safest draft picks of all time because look what he was able to do in Cleveland. The face of that franchise, 10 Pro Bowls, six-time first team All-Pro, was on the 2010 All-Decade team and obviously made the Hall of Fame very quickly after his career did come to a close. And now joining us, I think he's driving to Green Bay, Wisconsin because he is announcing the second round selection of the Cleveland Browns and that is the legendary Cleveland Brown, the legendary football player, the Pro Football Hall of Famer in Joe Thomas who's kind enough to join us right now.

And I am told that he has a Hall of Fame beef company now, sixspringsfarm.com and Joe Thomas is with us on the Zach Elb show. Joe, appreciate it as always. How you been?

I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it. So tell me about this beef company. Usually I would do the promo item at the end, but you hear Hall of Fame beef company and Joe Thomas. I got to ask that right out of the gate. Yeah, I did something right naming that since we're going right off the top with the promo, but my family farm, we raise Hall of Fame beef.

Like I mentioned, it's all pasture to plate. I really got passionate about this after I retired because I was so obsessed with being the best left tackle I possibly could be. And I was really searching for kind of something when I retired and I thought, you know what, what do I really like to do?

I like to eat a lot. I've got this awesome family farm in the Driftless area of Wisconsin. I've got this incredible pasture land that's right on the banks of the Blue River.

And let's see if money was not an option yet. How could I raise the best tasting beef that's the best for you on planet earth? And I did that, thankfully. I completely stumbled into it. Just I happenstance with, um, how we're raising them, how we're feeding them, uh, all the food that's raised on our farm from the corn silage to the alfalfa hay to the pasture that they're eating, uh, in the summer.

And then just having some really great guidance. And then as soon as my family and friends were eating that, they're like, you need to sell this stuff because it's too good. And it's such a great story where normally people are eating food today. They have no idea where it comes from. And the beef gets shipped all over the country, getting born here and finished here.

And for me, I was like, no, I want to simplify this and make sure if people are buying hall of fame beef, they know exactly where it's coming from. It's coming right from my farm. Everything's born there.

We selected the best genetics that money can buy. And then they're raised their entire life until the truck comes and they go to heaven on my farm. And then it becomes delicious steaks and beef sticks and jerky and that all the beef products you can possibly imagine.

And you can get all shipped right to your house from our website, six Springs farms. So I appreciate it. Let me go off the top and getting pretty excited off the job.

Well, I appreciate you joining us. So we know you got the meats covered. Now you're, you're in the car and you're heading over to green Bay to go see the NFL draft. You'll be announcing the Brown second round selection, the 33rd pick in the NFL draft. What is Joe Thomas like on this drive outside of just having a bunch of meat in the car? Like you listen to a lot of music.

What are you doing on this drive? Yeah, I actually do have like 20 pounds of beef sticks that I'll be handing out to influential friends and family up in green Bay and some cheddar worse for all my Wisconsinites that are certainly going to be tailgating out there. And then, you know, some of the other people, maybe even some bears fans will let them in on it.

But I do like to jam a little bit in the car. I'm listening to some podcasts, like a lot of people, but sometimes, you know, I like a lot of different types of music and sometimes just putting on some reggae, some chill music like that just gets me in the right flow and the right vibe to just zone out and get up there to green Bay, to title town and get excited for the draft. So obviously, you know, we, we know your, your connection to Wisconsin and all that. So you're going back there in 2007. You were the third overall pick, you know, one of the best draft picks ever with the career that you did go on to have. What do you remember on that night that your life really changed when the Browns made you the third overall pick of the draft? Well, I think I was one of the first people that said, you know, the draft is awesome.

Thank you so much for inviting me, but I got something that's already on the calendar. I'm going fishing with my dad today and now they also pushed back a little bit for a while. Um, but I think they finally understood like when I say something I'm going to do it.

And this is more about spending time with my dad and doing something that I've loved for a very long time. And then, you know what, once I get drafted, that's when the work begins, you know, I really kind of hated the idea that I saw a lot of draft picks ahead of me where they thought that the draft was the end of their journey, right? The work's over. I get my contract now.

I'm going to get paid all this money and I can just mail it in. And for me, I really didn't want that capacity for me. I wanted it to be okay. I get drafted, take me out to Cleveland and then now the work begins. And that's really the mentality that I brought to my career. And I think it paid off obviously in the end, making it to the hall of fame and hopefully teammates remember me as that guy that just wanted to put his hard hat on, go to work.

And it really didn't matter what the conditions were. I was there and I was going to show up and if they could count on me. Well, you know what, maybe they needed you to show up to the draft because maybe then Jamarcus Russell wouldn't have been a boss with the number one overall selection because he could have used those words of wisdom. Yeah, he was exactly the type of guy that I was not excited to be compared to.

Hey, he got the big contract time to mail it in and need Cheetos the rest of my career. One of my producers is a Raiders fan and he's fist pumping right now. The Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas is here with us. So the Browns here at two there was a lot of speculation people thought it could be Shidor Sanders then Abdul Carter. Right now a lot of people believe it's going to be Travis Hunter. What would your thoughts be when the draft rolls around tomorrow night if that is the the pick that the Browns make it to with Travis Hunter? Yeah, I think when I look at the top five picks in the draft, I always think if you don't have a need at quarterback and if you haven't identified a quarterback that you are sure is that game changer that your franchise needs that you can count on him that's, you know, as foolproof as he possibly can be at that position. I think then you just go with the best player available because when you're picking that high you can't afford to reach for a position of need and if you're a good football player outside of quarterback they'll find a way to get you on the field and your team will be better and that's what I see Travis Hunter as. So I really hope that they're going to pick him with number two.

I think everybody knows Cam Ward's probably going to go number one. So to me Travis Hunter's like hey if you need receiver put them out that receiver hey if you need a cornerback put them out at cornerback every team needs more good cornerbacks and so he can kind of do everything for you and I think that's so important when you're picking at the top of the draft and it just so also happens that it is two positions of need for the Browns. Yeah and also you look at it we know what he could be as a wide receiver we know what he could be as a corner I've heard Andrew Berry say they look at him as a wide receiver first but I'm surprised around the rest of the league how much stubbornness there feels like where this guy is one of one we've never seen someone do it at at this level and people right away are saying oh he can't play both ways at the next level what do you make of that? Well I mean I think it's going to be tough to think that he'd be able to play the whole game both ways just because it's so much more physical and violent and it takes so much more preparation like I think he's probably early on in his career fit enough to be able to play both ways especially at those positions like as a receiver if you catch 10 passes you're getting tackled maybe eight times right you're it's not exactly like you're you're getting smashed uh at that position however I think the problem is I don't know if there's enough time in the day to be fully prepared and put in the film study to be able to play both positions full-time but I think what he would give you is hey you're a full-time receiver which takes more prep than playing cornerback but then you can put him out there in different packages he can get 20-25 snaps a game playing cornerback where you got where you go hey hey trav you got that dude and then he's just a man coverage and I think he makes your team better out there and I think that's a manageable two-way play for a player like Travis Hunter and I think even if he does that it's it's something that's almost unheard of in NFL history.

Could you imagine if they find a way to also get Chidor and you get Chidor and Travis Hunter on the same team once again? Unfortunately I never made the playoffs in my career as a Brown and so as Brown fans we always say the draft is our Super Bowl and if that happened we would win the Super Bowl this year. Wow like that would be that you're that you would be that excited about it because some people they have a little bit of a negative opinion on Chidor it seems like you're a believer what Chidor could be as a quarterback. Yeah I really like Chidor I mean I don't think he's the right pick at number two because of all the things I said about Travis Hunter but I think as a quarterback I think he's got the most important trait and that's decision making and accuracy. You can turn that skill set into a great quarterback in the NFL. Now are you going to be Patrick Mahomes without a huge arm and amazing athleticism? No but look throughout NFL history at the best quarterbacks what sets them apart is always their decision making and their accuracy. Guys who are self-made like the Tom Brady's the Drew Brees's that's what they did best and if you can do that you can have great success at quarterback and that's what I see with Chidor Sanders. If let's just say they can't get Chidor and I think that'd be a heck of a job by Andrew Berry so let's say Chidor's off the board Cam Ward's off the board is there another quarterback that you like because you hear some about Jackson Dart and then there's a lot of speed and the big arm potential of a Jalen Milro as well. Yeah so I like Jalen Milro the Browns are picking at the top of the second round and I think if we were able to get in that would be a huge coup for the team because in Kevin Stefanski's offense it sounds like they're going to be going back to a little bit more of the play action Kyle Shanahan type you know wide zone throw the ball with play action and so it doesn't take as much of a polished quarterback to be really successful in that scheme because you have a lot more time after the ball gets snapped to get your receivers down the field so you can really stretch the the secondary deep and it opens up a lot more windows and holes and when you have a quarterback with a big arm they have to respect him to be able to throw the ball 60-70 yards down the field and so I think he's a guy that actually would fit really really well with the system that Kevin Stefanski wants to run in Cleveland. Wrap it up with the Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas you know I watch Will Campbell a lot LSU I think he's going to be a very big player but like we've heard it before with quarterbacks small hands offensive linemen small arms when you hear the small arms stuff with Will Campbell how much of a concern is that even though he has really good tape? I got some PTSD because that's why I wasn't going to be a good NFL player and I always find it's so funny you know you got these measurables and you know obviously always faster is better stronger is better longer arms bigger hands are always better but there's such a flaw in the measurement system for a lot of these combine tests and you know arm length is one of them and I'll try to keep it brief because I've got a lot of scars about this one but they measure from like the point of your shoulder to the tip of your middle finger and when they say you have short or long arms the difference is like inch and a half two inches so if there's a guy that's got real long middle middle finger he might have short arms but he's got a long middle finger and they call him long long armed when really if you look at how you play the position nobody's poking the defense with their middle finger like you're striking them with a bent arm you're hitting them with the palm of your hand and so like having an inch or two longer arms yeah it's better to be longer than it is shorter in life in general but like it really is it really is it's irrelevant and and the difference we're saying where we classify somebody with long arms or short arms is so small it's insignificant now if you're telling me a guy have you know 23 inch arms I'd be like okay he's going to be at a significant disadvantage but we don't see guys going out there like a boxer and punching people like that your arms and your hands are just a way to connect the defensive player to your feet and you control people with your feet as an offensive tackle so the whole arm length thing to me is is ridiculous and every year we get to talk about it and they bring me on to talk about it so i guess i can't be too bad about it well you must have had a long middle finger because you gave the middle finger to to a lot of those scouts that said you had short arms with the career that you had well i guess maybe i just cut off my other fingers so it looks a lot longer now so perspective is everything it was before we let you run like are you nervous to to announce this draft pick in the second round it'll be my first time up on the stage uh during a draft pick so i i guess i'm not nervous right now but certainly i'll be nervous i mean i grew up in wisconsin i live there now and you know there's going to be a lot of friends and family that are there my son's coming my brother-in-law and his kids so i think i'll probably be a little bit nervous you know you're doing something that you've never done before sometimes it makes you a bit nervous i think it's easy what you do you get up there you play to the crowd it's great to be home and then you go hey this is for zach yelp here we go brownies here we go you know we get a little shout out you play to the browns fans and i think you'll be fine hey i'll let you write my speech text that to me after the show and and for sure i'm going to get a rousing round of applause from all the cheeseheads and all the browns fans in the crowd yeah just don't forget to plug the zach yelp show and then also six springs farms.com right hey i'm on board with those two things so i think we got a deal it sounds good six springs farm.com once again is joe thomas's hall of fame beef company joe safe travels we appreciate it thanks so much this was great yeah thanks for having me on brother there you go joe thomas always love talking to him the legendary offensive lineman the pro football hall of famer how about that should doran travis they're able to get them both that would be like the browns winning the super bowl that's a good quote all right we'll take a break how are we talking about a few prospects we know the creme de la creme prospects at each positions who else stands out to me if you're not the best at your own position i'll get to that on the other side it is zach yelp showing the infinity sports network 888-710-4-ISN 888-710-4476 you can always get at me on social media instagram and twitter at zach yelp that's zach yelp that's zach g-e-l-b