Chris Young and Joe Thomas Join Salute to Service at the NFL Draft

Nashville's big NFL draft street party looked pretty wet in the rainstorm that greeted the first-round picks Thursday, but the NFL and USAA's "Salute to Service" program had an event with multi-platinum country singer Chris Young and future NFL Hall-of-Famer Joe Thomas that was safely indoors.

Personnel from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, were invited to the private music industry hangout The Steps at WME to hear a few songs from Young and ask questions of both Young and Thomas before the two men held an autograph session.

Thomas played offensive tackle at the University of Wisconsin. He was the first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2007 (third overall) and played his entire 11-year career in Cleveland. He was invited to the Pro Bowl 10 times and was named first-team All-Pro seven times and second-team All-Pro twice. He's a longtime supporter of military charities and a sure bet to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Young won the "Nashville Star" singing competition in 2006 and had his breakthrough with his "The Man I Want to Be" album in 2008. He's had multiple No. 1 singles, been nominated for a Grammy and won ACM, CMT and CMA Awards.

He used the event to announce USAA's official sponsorship of his "Raised On Country Tour 2019." USAA will host unique and exciting experiences for active-duty military, veterans and their families at all 2019 dates of the coast-to-coast headlining tour.

"From performing for our service members at military installations around the world to my sister and brother-in-law's own service in the U.S. Marines, I've seen firsthand the many sacrifices our military and their families make every day in service to our country," Young said. "I'm excited to have USAA on board for my 2019 tour, and I'm looking forward to meeting our service members at all the shows."

You can see more photos from the event below.