Joe Thuney selected as top NFL player over age 30 in latest rankings

The 2024 NFL season was supposed to be the year that the Chicago Bears finally got it right. They had the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft and selected the consensus top quarterback with that pick. But as GM Ryan Poles quickly learned, you get what you pay for, and his cheap offensive line gave up 68 sacks, the third most of all time.

Despite this horrendous oversight, you have to give credit to Poles for learning from his mistakes. This past offseason, he invested heavily in the offensive line, pouring so many resources into this unit that what was once a weakness is now considered a strength. That's an impressive one-year turnaround for a 5-man unit. They still have to prove themselves on the field, but on paper, this O-line has the looks of an elite protection squad.

Nowhere is that better represented than at the left guard position, which will be held down by 4-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion Joe Thuney. Despite turning 32 years old, he remains one of the very best in the business, which is why he was recently selected as one of the best players 30 years old or over.

CBS Sports analyst Jeff Kerr placed Thuney at No. 9 in his rankings and had this to say about the future Hall of Famer: "Thuney is still one of the top interior linemen in the NFL, having to play left tackle last season due to the Chiefs' revolving door at the position. He didn't allow a sack in 665 pass-blocking snaps last season, letting up 24 pressures and a 3.6% pressure rate. A repeat first-team All-Pro selection, Thuney is now tasked with leading the Bears' revamped offensive line."

Six hundred sixty-five pass-blocking snaps without a sack, with most of those coming at a position where he's not even at his best, is truly an impressive stat and speaks to what a technician Thuney is. He's not the biggest or strongest O-lineman, nor is he the fastest, as he nears the twilight of his career, but his technique is impeccable.

Thuney raises the floor of Chicago's O-line by a country mile, and his presence on the team comes with intangible benefits, too. This is a man who has protected arguably the two greatest quarterbacks of all time (Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes) and has won four Super Bowls. He knows what it takes to win championships better than anyone else on the roster.

That kind of experience and wisdom, more than anything else, serves as a lush oasis in the Chicago Bears' desert of organizational ineptitude. Hopefully, it spreads and grows until this team finally knows what it means to experience sustained success.

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