Devin Thomas profile

[MTK]

Analysis

Positives: Has an outstanding frame with very good muscle development, especially in his arms and chest...Has long, cut limbs with a lean waist, muscular, cut-up legs and room to add more bulk without having it impact his impressive timed speed...Has very good agility, balance and flexibility, but needs to work on adjusting his feet better working along the sidelines...Shows toughness fighting for the ball in traffic and is a physical route runner who likes to run through tackles (gets in trouble when he tries to get fancy and execute fakes, though)...Has the quickness to get in and out of his breaks and the strength to absorb punishment going up for the ball in a crowd...Will lay out to make the catch and showed marked improvement in working back to the ball...Explosive breakaway threat with impressive leaping ability, as he shows good explosion coming off the line, using his hands well to escape press coverage...Also uses strength over quickness to escape the jam, but is adequate using an array of moves to elude defenders...Has the burst to get in and out of his cuts, along with the speed and feet to get separation...Even though he has long limbs, he runs with short, quick feet...Especially effective on underneath passes and crossing patterns, as he separates quickly from the defender in the open, showing that second gear needed to gain yardage after the catch...Has good strength to power through on his initial release and gets a strong push off the line of scrimmage...Moves upfield quickly after busting the jam and is very physical with the defensive backs to defeat the press...Needs a bit of deep route polish, but has a good feel running solid short-to-intermediate routes (still needs to sit down in coverage better)...Has the arm power to push off and uncover trying to get open and is very tough and physical when accelerating upfield and this allows him to break tackles...Shows excellent linear speed and the upfield moves needed to break free from tacklers after the catch...Has the lateral agility and foot movements to slip past off coverage and gets proper separation from the defenders on underneath routes...Plucks and extends for the ball outside his frame...His height, strength and long arms give him an advantage taking on tacklers in a crowd...Times his leaps well and rather wait for the pass, he attacks the ball at its high point...Very fluid in his running stride, keeping his balance to power through arm tackles (will take a bit of time getting back to top speed when he stops to make the catch, though) as he won't go down easy, fighting hard for extra yardage...Has the strength to overpower second level defenders when asked to block on the move, but is not as effective when blocking in-line...Despite his speed, he is a patient kickoff returner who follows his blocks well and shows good pad level running with the ball...Might be a good fit as a slot receiver, due to his combination of size, strength and speed that are sure to create mismatches vs. the defense's sub package.

Negatives: Has very good timed speed and is quick into his routes, but needs to do a better job of uncovering and tracking the ball on deep routes (struggles at times to snatch the ball over his outside shoulder)...Must do a better job of keeping his feet in bounds when operating along the sidelines...Despite his quickness, it takes him some time to get back to speed when he tries to turn and run after making the catch...Must use his raw power better to break arm tackles, as he tries to get too fancy with his fakes and moves after the catch in attempts to elude rather than power through...Still learning how to set up defenders and needs to do a better job of sitting down in coverage...Has large hands and good arm reach to extend for the ball, but when he doesn't attack the ball or tries to body catch, most of his drops occur...Effective cut blocker, but does not play up to his size and strength when blocking in-line (needs to sustain and finish better)...Might struggle trying to digest a complicated playbook (just adequate with the mental aspect of the game). And needs to do a better job of reading coverages (will run into spots, at times).

Compares To: KOREN ROBINSON-Green Bay...A physical player with very good strength and timed speed, Thomas is still a bit raw as a route runner, but uses his size to shield the ball from the defender. He is very effective as a kickoff returner, as he has the straight-line speed and patience to squeeze through the wedge for big yardage. With his impressive physique, he could be an inviting target over the middle, as he will not hesitate to mix it up with a defender. However, with his burst and running stride, he can also challenge the deep secondary. He will still need time to develop better pattern running skills, but he has enough in his package to contribute as a rookie.

Injury Report

No injuries reported.

Copyright NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.