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Caleb Williams Helped Joe Thuney Do What All-Time Great QBs Didn't

Playing with Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady couldn't get Joe Thuney's brilliance recognized but his blocking for Caleb Williams has earned him an overdue honor.
Gene Chamberlain|
The NFL Protector of the Year, Joe Thuney, has finally cracked the NFL top 100.
The NFL Protector of the Year, Joe Thuney, has finally cracked the NFL top 100. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

It seemed Bears guard Joe Thuney had done it all once he won the first NFL Protector of the Year Award.  He hadn't, but maybe now he has.

Four Lombardi trophies, six Super Bowl appearances and the top offensive lineman are now on his resume, but now he has gone one step further. The 33-year-old guard has cracked the NFL top 100 for the first time. NFL.com's awards voted on by players has him at No. 49 overall among all the league players.  

This all seems rather incredible, actually incredibly awkward. How does an offensive lineman as talented as Thuney obviously is get this far into his career with Super Bowl winning teams and never make the top 100 until now? It all tends to diminish the value of this player voting process when someone like this has been constantly overlooked. NFL.com mentioned the fact it's his first time making the top 100. At least they're owning up to this embarrassing situation. 

Thuney last year was the leader among guards in pass rush win rate, according to ESPN's metric. He was second among interior offensive linemen, trailing only Kansas City center Creed Humphrey. He also was third in run block win rate among guards, something not considered his greatest strength. 

Thuney was second in 2024 in pass block win rate among guards, and No. 1 in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Yet, the players didn't manage to vote him into their top 100 players until now. 

This says two things. First, it says their votes can't be taken seriously. It's like Pro Bowl voting. It's a popularity contest.  

"Thuney’s stellar season was highlighted by an 88.6 pass-blocking grade from PFF, tops among 81 qualified guards. He allowed zero sacks, one QB hit and was flagged just twice," NFL.com digital content editor Grant Gordon wrote. "A four-time Super Bowl champion, Thuney has gone to four straight Pro Bowls and been an All-Pro three years running. Despite those accolades, Thuney is making his NFL 100 debut after his 10th NFL season." 

Wow. It's about time the NFL's players opened their eyes. 

A total embarrassment for NFL players

Second, this says something about the impact of the Bears and Caleb Williams' magical season of comebacks in 2025. No one noticed Thuney enough with the Chiefs and Patriots to get him into the top 100 in the past. Put him in the Bears' offense blocking for Williams, amid all of those magical finishes and plays, and players around the league finally see what he has done.  

You need to give credit to someone when the quarterback is sacked only 24 times after being sacked 68 the previous season. It's more than likely the result of good blocking, coaching and scheme, and also Williams being slippery enough to repeatedly elude pass rushers while holding the ball longer than all other quarterbacks. 

"He's the same guy every single day," Bears guard Jonah Jackson said. "Probably the most consistent person outside of Ben (Johnson) that I've seen in the league. He handles his business. He's a grownup. He's a pro's pro.”  

And now everyone is starting to realize it, but it took a crazy Caleb Williams season of comebacks to make it obvious when four world championships playing alongside the GOAT, Brady, and Mahomes didn't do it. 

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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