2023 NFL Draft: Small-school edge rusher on Chiefs radar

B.J. Thompson from Stephen F. Austin is a small-school pass rusher who is drawing big-time interest from several teams.

We’re into the actual month of the NFL Draft, and it’s about the right time for some of the players from smaller schools to start making serious waves with scouts and analysts who have already worked their way through the obvious choices and Power 5 schools. The latest such prospect hoping to make his way up draft boards is pass rusher B.J. Thompson from Stephen F. Austin.

The Chiefs are among several teams who have expressed interest in Thompson, who has visited with the Chiefs in the past and was spending time with the Dallas Cowboys on an official prospect visit on Wednesday. Other teams reportedly interested, per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, include the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.

Thompson’s numbers don’t leap off of the page with only 6.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks at a lower level of competition this season, but he had 12.5 TFL and 9.5 sacks during the 2021 campaign.

At 6’6, 238 lbs., Thompson profiles as a lengthy developmental player who is already a bit older than most scouts like at 24. However, he showed significant potential at this year’s East-West Shrine game and scouts wonder how he might grow with proper coaching and use. With better technique and more experience, there could be a diamond in the rough for a team with a vision for the investment.

Stephen F. Austin isn’t exactly a football factory of a school with only a single draft pick called since 2011—back in 2018 when the L.A. Rams selected defensive end John Franklin-Myers. However the Chiefs have a bit of history with the school since they selected running back Derrick Blaylock in 2001 out of SFA. Head coach Andy Reid also has history with perhaps the best player from Stephen F. Austin in former Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter who was drafted in 1998.