Demaryius Thomas - Draft Projection - NFL Impact

[DearbornDolfan]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMK59U6nCuw"]YouTube- Demaryius "Bay-Bay" Thomas Highlights[/ame]​

Flanker - Georgia Tech

• Height - 6-3 1/4
• Weight - 224
• Projected 40 Time - 4.45
  

2009 Stats:

• 46 Receptions
• 1,154 Yards
• 25.1 YPA
• 8 TD

Draft Projection - 2nd -3rd Round


Physical Attributes: That 40 time I projected? Conservative, extremely so. I've seen fast defensive backs with an excellent angle on him whiff entirely because his internal Mr. Sulu hit the button for warp speed. A lot of people peg him as a 4.5-4.6 guy because he's a long strider, but his every step is pure acceleration and he gets to his top speed quickly. His height and weight measurements speak for themselves, they're the kind of thing that coaches and GMs salivate over. Plus, he has 10 1/2" hands, which are 3/4" larger than Calvin Johnson's.


On The Field: The guy plays with heart, there's no other way to say it. He goes and gets the ball wherever it's thrown to, no matter the coverage he's under. He blocks with a mean streak, laying down vicious crackbacks and pancaking on heads-up blocks whenever he has the chance.

Now, there are three faults in his game and they're all related to route running. One, he only had to learn the most basic route tree at Georgia Tech, but I see no reason he can't learn a more complex one. Two, when he runs routes with cuts or comebacks, he doesn't really sink his hips; that's not uncommon in big guys, but he's going to have to work on it. Three, and relating to two, because he has trouble sinking his hips he doesn't really go into the first cut with full speed, which means he has trouble selling his routes; that's going to be a bit of a problem in the NFL if he doesn't learn quickly, because NFL corners aren't going to respect his speed as much.


The Final Word: Take a look at all the receivers in this draft. At the end of their NFL careers, and assuming he refines his game, Demaryius Thomas is going to be better than all of them. The ONLY reason he isn't rated higher than Dez Bryant is because of the offense he played in; if he had gone to Oklahoma, Texas, or Florida there's no doubt in my mind he would've broken season and career records on his way to Heisman Trophies, National Championships, and been a lock for a top 5 pick in the NFL draft. And yet, despite the fact that none of this occurred, people were starting to wake up about him and realize this guy was a legit first-round possibility, but then he broke his foot during preparation for the combine. That has hurt his stock, he's probably not going to go before the middle of the second round at this point, but whatever team drafts him is going to get a major steal.

 

[Miller]

Day of truth for Thomas.....NO WAY he breaks 4.5 IMO. You can excuse his appearance of speed due to his long stride, but he is not a 4.45 guy.

somewhere between 4.5 and 4.6 is my guess.

 

[DearbornDolfan]

Thomas isn't running, he broke his foot training for the Combine. Unless you know something I don't? And I wonder what you base that assertion off of.

 

[derringer007]

Demaryius Thomas will miss combine with broken foot - NFL - SI.com

 

[DearbornDolfan]

Oh, he's there. He was weighed in and measured, he'll do interviews, he just can't do any real physical activities.

 

[DearbornDolfan]

Btw, Miller, in case you don't click on that link, I'm going to post an excerpt for you

According to observers at Athletes Performance, where Thomas has been training, the 6-foot-3, 227-pound receiver had been turning in sensational workouts in preparation for the combine. He recently ran a verified 4.38 in the 40, which was recorded on film and will be sent to every team in the league, France told SI.com.

 

[Miller]

Thomas isn't running, he broke his foot training for the Combine. Unless you know something I don't? And I wonder what you base that assertion off of.

Didn't hear about the broken foot....sucks, wanted to see his time on a neutral track.

 

[Miller]

Btw, Miller, in case you don't click on that link, I'm going to post an excerpt for you

And Beanie Wells ran a taped and timed 4.3 last year in "preparation".....sorry, that means dick and even you know it. In truth, the 40 times don't mean much anyways, but they are fun to discuss.

These guys put up eye popping 40's on fast tracks. What is great about the combine is it is a neutral track that "everyone" runs on and does at the same time. You can compare those numbers to the rest and get a good measure of how they stack up with the class.

The independent numbers, no matter who they are, don't mean much IMO. And this is from an OSU homer who's favorite players year in and year out pop these outrageous numbers running at their pro day at Ohio State. That track is FAST! And the numbers really don't end up meaning a whole lot for me.

If he was able to run today, I have little doubt he would not have broken the 4.5 mark.....but we will never know.

 

[Miller]

His agent, Todd France, told SI.com that it was a clean break and doctors expect a recovery time of four to six weeks. "There are no longterm effects from the injury and Demaryius will be 100 percent by the time OTA's begin," said France, who added that surgery is a possibility. "If surgery hastens the healing process, that is something we will consider."

​

Doesn't look like this will do anything but keep scouts from getting a good look at him in drills before the draft. 4-6 wk recovery. Should not have a long term effect on him.

 

[Miller]

Have stated this is the past, but will add this to his draft projection thread. Here is what I see with Thomas that concerns me. He comes from an offense that runs the ball down your throat and does not pass....forcing teams to load up to stop the running threat. This leaves the one passing threat they have 1-1 on the outside. When watching his highlights, his catches rarely are contested or in traffic. They are usually from broken coverage due to the element of shock that they are actually passing. I do not think there was one catch I saw in the highlights in which there was a double team around him.

I think it is much easier to impress when you are not the focus of the offense. Make him face a balanced defense and I think he struggles. Not having to catch in traffic is going to be something that hurts him in the long run. The adjustment he will need to make at the next level is much greater than most WR's.

​

 

[DearbornDolfan]

At 0:32 he adjusts to make a catch against tight single coverage, same deal at 0:35, at 0:37 he gets over the top of the corner and safety deep down the field, at 0:40 he does the same as the first two, at 0:44 he attacks a soft spot in the Cover 2, at 0:50 basically the same deal, at 1:01 he does it again on a play that's pass from the get go.

So, in the first 30 seconds of action in the highlight video he makes seven catches the way elite receivers are supposed to. You have to keep in mind he's basically Georgia Tech's only receiving threat, so if defenses aren't respecting that then it's not his fault. Going back through the entire video again, I'm seeing that most of the catches he made were against good single coverage or even double coverage and were the result of his physicality.

 

[DearbornDolfan]

These guys put up eye popping 40's on fast tracks. What is great about the combine is it is a neutral track that "everyone" runs on and does at the same time. You can compare those numbers to the rest and get a good measure of how they stack up with the class.

The Combine track at Indi is also notoriously dirt slow, but it's a hybrid electronic-hand timed. All the workout tracks are fully electronic timed, which adds about 2/10 to the time over the Combine method.

 

[Miller]

The Combine track at Indi is also notoriously dirt slow, but it's a hybrid electronic-hand timed. All the workout tracks are fully electronic timed, which adds about 2/10 to the time over the Combine method.

Pretty sure the official times they post are the electronic times.

The point for me is not as much the times.....it's how they stack up against the others. This 4.36 of Thomas when compared to Tate's official 4.42 are like comparing apples and oranges. That is the beauty of the combine, stack them all up on the same track and let them run. Gives you a great line for comparison. The independent times don't do that.

With that said, I have read multiple sources saying he was looking great in his workouts and you are right about his hands, they are HUGE! Still very raw IMO and his learning curve will be steep. But he does have a very high ceiling with the physical tools he is showing.

 

[Miller]

At 0:32 he adjusts to make a catch against tight single coverage, same deal at 0:35, at 0:37 he gets over the top of the corner and safety deep down the field, at 0:40 he does the same as the first two, at 0:44 he attacks a soft spot in the Cover 2, at 0:50 basically the same deal, at 1:01 he does it again on a play that's pass from the get go.

So, in the first 30 seconds of action in the highlight video he makes seven catches the way elite receivers are supposed to. You have to keep in mind he's basically Georgia Tech's only receiving threat, so if defenses aren't respecting that then it's not his fault. Going back through the entire video again, I'm seeing that most of the catches he made were against good single coverage or even double coverage and were the result of his physicality.

:21 no coverage at all, sold out on the run
:32 tight coverage? the DB was out of position to make a play, that is a play you have to make.
:37 beat two defenders?? Come on, this is what I am talking about, defenses selling out on the run and Thomas running uncontested FREE!
:44 He finds a nice spot in the zone.....and makes a catch with no one within 5 yds of him, continues to prove my point.
:50 U's #7 bites on the run, Thomas uncovered.
1:01 One of the better plays in that first minute, does a great job of attacking the defense

Just not as impressed as you are. Good prospect, starting to like him a bit more, but has a LOT of work and he will not see the same coverage benefits in the NFL as he saw at GT due to the run run run mantality of that offense.

 

[DearbornDolfan]

Pretty sure the official times they post are the electronic times.

No, at the combine when a player puts their hand down it's on a touch pad, which is why you always see their hands shuffling around before they go into their start stance. When they lift their hand their time starts. Their finishes are recorded by photovoltaic cell.

The best all-electronic systems tend to be laser-laser, but they're brutally accurate and you can't game them all that much.

 

[Coachnorm]

Georgia Tech WR Demaryius Thomas (foot) is scheduled to hold an individual Pro Day on Sunday. He was unable to perform at the Combine or Yellow Jackets' Pro Day due to a broken foot. Rumored to be running sub-4.4 forties before his injury, Thomas' workout could go a long way toward determining whether he'll be drafted in the first round. A time in the mid-4.5s could push him into the second.

 

[dannywest]

I do have a question for everyone here, one aspect that Thomas excels in that has yet to be brought up is his blocking. With the Jackets it was vital that our receivers block well as we are a run first run second team, does anyone think that this could play a role in his draft position if a team with a run first offense looks his way?

 

[Cooley Cadets]

I do have a question for everyone here, one aspect that Thomas excels in that has yet to be brought up is his blocking. With the Jackets it was vital that our receivers block well as we are a run first run second team, does anyone think that this could play a role in his draft position if a team with a run first offense looks his way?

Do you have a team in mind? I could see this being a factor but even if they are a run oriented team they would have to have the WR position as a need warranting taking him relatively early.

 

[Miller]

I do have a question for everyone here, one aspect that Thomas excels in that has yet to be brought up is his blocking. With the Jackets it was vital that our receivers block well as we are a run first run second team, does anyone think that this could play a role in his draft position if a team with a run first offense looks his way?

If they are impressed with his other fundamentals, this is someone the Steelers could look at due to this. Look at Ward, they love their blocking receivers. I personally think he is a still a big gamble in the mid 1st, but maybe the Steelers deal down, grab an extra pick and grab him.

 

[Miller]

Mort reported on Twitter that he is not having a pro day today after all.

One team tells ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Georgia Tech WR Demaryius Thomas (foot) will not run on Sunday after all.
Mort compares the situation to that of Michael Crabtree last season, not running to ensure that there's no setback with the foot. If Thomas doesn't run, there's no point in having a pro day workout at all. He wasn't expected to work out until recently, so this shouldn't have a major impact on his draft stock.

However, sounds like the Rams are working him out today instead.