Wisconsin Badgers on SI List of Top 400 NFL Players

Offensive Tackles

Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns, 38th Overall, 3rd OT

Rick Wagner, Detroit Lions, 188th Overall, 15th OT

For his entire superlative NFL career, Joe Thomas has played for the Cleveland Browns.  He has handled LT duties for 10 seasons now and played all 16 games in every single season.  Thomas has been named a First Team All Pro on six occasions and made 10 Pro Bowls.  He is destined for Canton and is arguably the finest offensive linemen the Wisconsin Badgers have ever produced.  Thomas is signed through 2018 but his dead cap figure is $0 in 2017 so his name will probably surface again for trade talks.

Rick Wagner is not Joe Thomas, but he is paid pretty well.  The former Wisconsin Badgers OT signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Detroit Lions.  Wagner will be paid $47 million over five years with $20.5 million guaranteed and a $14.5 million signing bonus.  He is now the 8th highest paid RT in the NFL.  Pro Football Focus loves Wagner, giving him a 84.5 grade and pegging him as a top ten OT in pass protection.  Frankly, the SI ranking is probably a little low on Wagner compared to the other RT they have listed ahead of him.