College: Oregon
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 176

Positives

Speed: Thomas is one of, if not the fastest player in college football. Every time he touches the ball he is a threat to take it all the way to the house. Thomas is a speed player and excels when he can get the ball in space with room to make moves and making people miss. In the run game he excels on runs outside the tackle where he can get moving and make guys miss and in the passing game he is fantastic on screens and other passes that get him open with room to move. He also excels in the return game.  There isn’t a more electric player in the draft than Thomas.

Versatility: Thomas has shown the ability to play all over the field on offense. He can play the running back position as well as receiver, kick returner and punt returner. Thomas can be used in a number of ways to get him the ball and it can’t be understated how important that can be. Whichever team drafts him will be able to use him much like the Vikings did with Cordarrelle Patterson and the Rams did with Tavon Austin. He can’t be a full time running back because of his size, but he can carry the ball some each game along with playing in the slot and taking on return duties. Thomas is a big play waiting to happen and he can do it from a number of positions.

Negatives

Size: Thomas is listed at 5’9” and 176 pounds and that might be a bit generous. Thomas won’t be able to take the beating of running the ball between the tackles and one has to wonder if the big hits that the NFL brings will be too much for his small size. Thomas isn’t going to be breaking any tackles anytime soon either, so if a player gets their hands on him, he is likely to go down. Teams will have to believe that they can use him correctly and keep him healthy to invest a very high pick on him.

NFL Comparison

Tavon Austin: This comparison seems like a pretty easy one to make. Both played running back as well as receiver at times in college. Both of them are small in stature and both of them were electric playmakers who also brought return ability. Austin and Thomas both also bring the ability to return kicks and punts and excel at it.

Draft Outlook

Thomas is a hard person to predict in the draft. He had a down year so most are projecting him to fall down the draft board pretty significantly from the first-round talk we were hearing before the season started. That being said Thomas will likely blow up the combine and be one of the fastest players there. After coaches see that his stock will likely rise back up some again. I look for a team to take Thomas in the third-round.

Best Fit

When thinking of the best fit for Thomas two teams come to mind. The first of those is the Cleveland Browns. The Browns had little offense outside of Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron. Thomas brings and electric ability out of the backfield, but can also play slot receiver and give whoever plays quarterback in Cleveland next year another weapon. On top of all that, he can give them a returner as talented as they have had since Josh Cribbs.

The second team is former head coach Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles could use another back to come in and give LeSean McCoy a break next year, seeing as they probably don’t want him touching the ball 366 times again next season. Thomas would also give Nick Foles another weapon. The main reason he is a great fit for the Eagles is that Chip Kelly knows how to use him. Kelly used him to his fullest potential at Oregon and could do the same with him in Philadelphia.