Detroit Lions: 30 greatest players in franchise history
Left Tackle. (1985-1995). Lomas Brown. 17. player. 50.
Lomas Brown came into the league as the sixth overall draft choice in the 1985 NFL Draft. He performed admirably during his 11 seasons in Detroit, even as he played one of the game’s most critical positions at left tackle.
Just like his former offensive line cohort Kevin Glover, Brown had the distinction of opening up running lanes for Barry Sanders to dart through. Brown also provided top-notch blindside protection for his quarterbacks, regardless of who the Lions decided to roll the dice on in that moment.
In another similar vein as his former teammate Brown went through the early years of his career (five seasons) before being voted to the Pro Bowl. Though once he reached his first one in 1990, that was the start of a string of six consecutive Pro Bowl nods to close out his tenure in Detroit.
His entire career in the Motor City was an impressive one. Brown left the franchise after his last season in 1995 with first-team All-Pro honors. Extremely durable and always reliable, Brown started in 163 of his 164 games as a Lion. He went on to start in 251 games out of 263 for his career.
The same work ethic that made him who he was at the University of Florida allowed the former Gator to shine in the NFL for 18 seasons. Brown was able to truly retire on top of the football world after he won the first and only Super Bowl ring of his long and distinguished career in 2002 as a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.