Stanford Profile:
Name: Chase Thomas
Height: 6' - 4"
Weight: 248 lbs.
Class: Redshirt Senior
Hometown: Marietta, GA
Date of Birth: June 10, 1989 (23 years old)
High School: Walton High School
Stanford Statistics:
2012 (RSr.): 68 total tackles (43 solo), 14.0 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, 1 FF, 2 FR, 3 PDef, 1 INT
- Lott Trophy Award Finalist (Manii Te'o, Arthur Brown, Jarvis Jones, Chase Thomas)
- 1st Team All Pac 12
2011 (RJr.): 52 total tackles (33 solo), 17.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks, 5 FF
- 1st Team Sporting News All-American
- 1st Team All Pac 12
2010 (RSo.): 70 total tackles (49 solo), 11.5 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, 1 FF, 2 FR, 3 PDef, 1 INT
- Honorable Mention All-Pac 10
2009 (RFr.): 36 total tackles (20 solo), 7.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks, 2 FF
- 2nd Team CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-American
Redshirt Senior Year (2012) Highlights:
Redshirt Junior Year (2011) Highlights:
Redshirt Sophomore Year (2010) Highlights:
Positives (+):
+ Hand use, footwork and efficient movement to the QB
+ Long arms and disengages blocks well
+ Versatile in every sense of the word
+ Plethora of pass rush moves
+ Rushes from left or right side and with hand on the ground
+ Closes on the QB well
+ Fast first step
+ Thinks on his feet, very sharp kid
+ Hustle player, aggressive
+ Consistently displays good leverage
+ 4 year player, durable and productive
+ Has been coached very well in Palo Alto
Negatives (-):
- Sometimes gets caught in open field arm tackles
- Needs to add some weight and strength for the NFL
- Needs to improve his coverage skills
- Can over pursue
- Hasn't been asked to go sideline to sideline due to scheme
- Struggles against assignment football (vs. Oregon)
2013 Raider and NFL Draft Outlook:
Thomas should be able to carve himself out a niche in his rookie season as a 3-4 rush OLB. He has consistently raided the backfields of the Pac 12 for the past three seasons. His aggressiveness and bulldog mentality should get him a starting job on coverage units immediately, especially with his relatively light frame. Obviously, as a soon to be Stanford graduate, Thomas is no dummy. Picking up a defensive playbook in NFL training camp, and dare one say, one in Oakland who is coached by "The Mad Scientist" Jason Tarver, former Stanford DC, should come relatively easy the first season, and also considering he'll likely be asked to destroy the QB 75% of the time, look for an immediate impact as he figures out how to dominate off the edge in the NFL.
Currently, Thomas' 2013 NFL Draft Stock is somewhere in the 2nd Round, but that could jump up to the 1st Round if all goes well during Draft Season. Teams looking for another pass rushing threat in a pure 3-4 or hybrid 3-4 scheme will get good use out of Thomas as a sack artist early. His experience, toughness and skill might be enough to get him into the late 1st Round. Oakland will most likely consider drafting Thomas if they engineer a trade down, or set of trade downs into the late 1st or early 2nd Rounds. His familiarity with Jason Tarver (who, along with Dennis Allen, may be looking to play more 3-4 in 2013), ability to rush the passer and plug and play status should immediately make him a priority target for Oakland should they be staring at a late 1st Round pick or a newly acquired 2nd Round pick.
Update (2/12/13): Looks like the Chase Thomas stock has slipped into the pick No. 70-90 Overall consideration. This is no doubt due to his niche role with the Cardinal, Scouts worry about his coverage skills and his all around skill set. When dealing with things directly ahead of him, in the immediate flats and getting after the QB, there's no doubt that Thomas has NFL potential, however. Oakland still has an inside edge in that current Raider DC Jason Tarver knows Chase Thomas inside and out, and probably will have a solid plan in place to get the most out of Thomas as an impact player off the edge. This new ranking, of course, puts Oakland in play for Thomas...the Raiders currently hold the No. 66 Overall pick at the top of the 3rd Round.
No comments:
Post a Comment