DeAnthony Thomas’ recent injury sets him back in the minds of pro scouts. NFL GMs and their talent evaluators are skeptics: making million-dollar investments they often look for a reason not to draft a player.
Even though this is the first injury of Thomas’ college career and he didn’t miss a game in high school, the 5-9, 169-lb. speedster now has to fight the perception that he’s too small and vulnerable to getting dinged up for the gladiatorial violence of the pro game. He needs to get back in the lineup and make big plays in multiple ways to change that conversation.
Tale of the tape: When DeAnthony Thomas reaches the finish line in college football, how big an impact can he have in the NFL?
Duck fans know how good he is and how historically explosive he is, but with Kenjon Barner and LaMichael James yet to make an impact at the pro level, and DAT missing three games, the notepads are closing on his viability as an early-round pick. It isn’t that he’s not a great player. He is. Cbs.com projects him as a 2nd round pick, nfldraftscout.com as a third rounder. But that stock plummets if he continues to sit, or comes back without having a maximum impact. In terms of making the money and boosting his draft stock, he needs to return to the lineup and make big plays.
Will he go to the NFL at the end of the year? Few players seem to enjoy the college experience and their teammates as much as DAT. But he does have three younger brothers back in Compton and his mother, and he wants to take care of them. A mid-first round pick makes about four million a year with a four million dollar signing bonus. A third rounder typically gets around $450,000 to $500,000. All rookies get a four-year contract, but only the first half of the first round get guaranteed deals.
DAT’s likely to go if: 1) he returns to the line-up and shows his great play-making ability consistently through the rest of the season and 2) the Ducks complete their goal of winning a national title. He’s less likely to leave if he has unfinished business, either in terms of showing his talents or the team meeting its goals.
If they get the title and DAT has three or four more two-touchdown games with big runs and returns, it will be time for him to move on. In that scenario he’s a second-rounder who’s accomplished the ultimate as a college player. The Heisman Trophy would have been nice, but that’s an uphill battle for a diminutive running back; currently that award has a strong bias toward dual-threat quarterbacks. It’s not possible this season after missing three games, and it would be very hard for him to get the volume of touches and percentage of big plays necessary to win it as a senior.
How good can De’Anthony Thomas be as a pro? Even among the fierce warriors of Sunday, Thomas is electrically fast. He can be as good a kick returner as Devin Hester, and as effective catching passes as DeSean Jackson. An innovative coach using the pro’s version of the spread offense would find him 10-12 touches a game in space. Chip Kelly would make him a star, but he needs linebackers, defensive tackles and cornerbacks. He won’t draft The Black Momba unless he can get him at a discount.
Thomas has the speed, courage and instincts to be a great pro. He’s a hard worker and a team player. With his ebullient personality he’ll be great for ticket sales and extremely popular with fans and the media. The ankle injury is a bump in the road.
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