Mar 13, 2014; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks running back De Anthony Thomas works out in front of NFL scouts during the Oregon Pro Day at the Moshofsky Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
2. De’Anthony Thomas Is For Real (At Least In Practice)
How De’Anthony Thomas fell to the fourth round is beyond me. His speed and quickness are as advertised, and he uses it well within the context of a football play. This isn’t a track star who plays football, Thomas is a football player who happens to be a track star.
What struck me about him is how sudden his movements are and his toughness. There was a play early in practice where he go absolutely lit up by Kyle Love, a player who is at least 9,000 pounds bigger than DAT, and DAT bounced right back up as if nothing happened to him. A few times this happened throughout practice where Thomas would take some sort of a big hit and he would rush right back to the huddle. The kid has a lot of heart in him which makes rooting for DAT very easy.
Thomas also has a lot of shake to him, he’s not just a straight-line speed guy. It’s hard to gauge these things in non-contact drills but you can see very clearly Thomas’ ability to create space and make the first guy miss. There is a sort of shake and fluidity to him that make corralling him difficult. It really hard not to watch him every time he’s on the field.
Finally, Thomas is going to be death to opposing defenses in the screen game if only because there is absolute no way any defender will be able to find him behind offensive linemen. He’s such a small guy – though noticeably thick for his stature – who hides really well behind players like Eric Fisher and Jeff Allen. He’s just going to be so much fun to watch.
What I’m trying to say is that buying a De’Anthony Thomas jersey would be a good investment.