A First Round Pick from Illinois, Brad Hopkins was an All-Rookie for the Oilers in 1993 at Left Tackle.  This would be his role for the franchise for the next 12 years.

Hopkins played his entire career with the Oilers/Titans, starting 188 of his 194 Games.  Twice named to the Pro Bowl (2000 & 2003), Hopkins was a dependable presence on the left side of the line, allowing the organization to worry about holes elsewhere for a decade-plus.  

It is grunt work but necessary.

A bust in his first two NFL seasons with Washington, Frank Wycheck signed with the Houston Oilers in 1995, who would soon relocate to Tennessee and become the Titans.  It was in the Volunteer State that Wychek would find his groove.

Wychek’s first two years as an Oiler/Titan was good, but his offensive production jumped in 1997, where he began a five-year streak of at least 600 Receiving Yards.  A Pro Bowl Selection from 1998 to 2000, Wychek was instrumental in one of the most famous plays in franchise history, "The Music City Miracle."  In the 2000 AFC Wild Card Game, the Titans were down 16-15, with 16 seconds left.  Wycheck took the handoff from Lorenzo Neal and then passed it to Kevin Dyson, who ran 75 Yards for the winning Touchdown.  The play is disputed to this day as to whether it was a backward or forward pass.  The Titans made it to the Super Bowl that year, albeit in a losing effort.

Wycheck was extremely popular in Tennessee, and he finished his career for the team, retiring in 2003.  With the Titans, Wycheck accumulated 4,958 Yards with 27 Touchdowns.  The franchise inducted him to their Hall of Fame in 2008.

An original Cleveland Brown, Lou Groza was recruited by Paul Brown, primarily to act as the Browns’ Place Kicker.  Groza led the AAFC in Points in his rookie year, and after two seasons, Groza also helped out on Cleveland’s Offensive Line, and he would perform a dual-role for the next twelve seasons.

The Browns won the first four AAFC Championships, and Groza helped them win the 1950, 1954, and 1955 NFL Titles.  Groza evolved into an above-average Left Tackle, but his kicking talents were ahead of its time.  "The Toe" was one of the first Kickers who could regularly get it through the uprights in further distances.  Before Groza, Field Goals beyond 40 Yards were rarely attempted, but a new dynamic was added to the game with Groza as a weapon.  He would be named a First Team All-Pro four years in a row (1952-55) with nine Pro Bowl appearances.  Back issues compounded, and he retired after the 1959 Season.

Groza came out of retirement in 1961, rejoining Cleveland but only as their Kicker.  For the fourth and fifth time, Groza led the NFL in Field Goal Percentage and helped the Browns win the 1964 Championship, making him the only player to win seven titles with Cleveland.  He retired for good after the 1967 Season.

Graham entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974, and his number 76 is one of five retired by the team.  He was also part of the inaugural Browns Ring of Honor in 2010.  Groza is also a member of the 1950s All-Decade Team.

The second incarnation of the Cleveland Browns had a bad start.  Going one step further, there is no inaccurate negative pejorative you could use to describe their first 20 years.  One thing they universally did perfectly was select Joe Thomas with the Third Overall Pick in the 2007 Draft.

Thomas, who won the Outland Trophy in 2006 with Wisconsin, was an All-Rookie and Pro Bowler at Left Tackle, and he did not miss a play as a rookie.  That is impressive enough, but he never missed a snap until the 2017 season, participating in 10,363 consecutive, a record, although that was not recorded until 1999.  

Thomas was not just an iron man; he was outstanding at what he did.  He was named to six First Team All-Pros and was a Pro Bowler annually from his rookie season (2007) to 2016.  An innovator with his shotput style in pass blocking, Thomas was hard for defenders to figure out.  He rarely allowed a sack, and even less was called for holding.  

Named to the 2010s All-Decade Team, Thomas's Browns teams only won 48 Games to 128 Losses.  It is an abysmal record, but where would they have been without him?  

Thomas is considered to be one of the best Left Tackles in the history of the game.  He was named to the Browns Ring of Honor in 2018.