Cam Thomas could blossom in low-pressure role with Chiefs defense

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach served up yet another special of his earlier this week before cutdown day when he sent over a future seventh-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for defensive end Cam Thomas. Thomas, who is entering his third season in the NFL, was a day-two pick in the draft just two years ago and his acquisition continues a trend of Veach taking a chance on former high-round picks.

Thomas had a promising rookie campaign for Arizona in 2022 when he recorded three sacks and a handful of tackles but would end up regressing significantly as a sophomore. Ultimately, Arizona invested heavily into its defensive line this past offseason including spending a first-round pick on a pass rusher and it meant an uphill battle for Thomas to make the team in 2024. Thomas wasn't going to make the team which is why they shipped him off for a seventh-round pick and for the Chiefs, it makes sense why they would give up a late draft pick for a guy they like even if they were going to get cut because Kansas City is so low in the waiver wire order.

Typically it's a bit of a red flag when a team essentially gives up on a significant draft pick just two years into his rookie contract, but the situation in Arizona has not been a particularly great one for developing players. Thomas was drafted by a different front office and coaching regime with their own preferences. Sometimes, you have guys that fall out of favor or get drafted over and that appears to be what has happened with Thomas. However, that doesn't mean he can't be valuable to another team.

With Thomas being under team control for the next two years and coming into a low-pressure situation, the Chiefs can play him to his strengths as a situational pass rusher

To many, the move for Thomas is no more than a depth rotational piece that can fill snaps in a worst-case scenario—e.g. in the wake of an injury. It should be noted that there's plenty of value just in that especially given his price. With Charles Omenihu being out for the first chunk of the season and second-year defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah still being a bit of an unknown adding veteran depth to the defensive end room made a lot of sense. Nonetheless, there's some untapped potential in Thomas that could be realized with Kansas City and he may even be of bigger impact than a lot of fans are anticipating.

The Chiefs have a history of making savvy smaller moves like this one that end up paying dividends in the future. One that comes to mind is when Veach traded Eric Murray to the Cleveland Browns for defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. Ogbah was seen as a bit of a bust prior to being traded to Kansas City, but he would end up recording five sacks before going down with a pectoral injury in 2019 and then signing a big free agent deal with the Miami Dolphins the following offseason.

The Thomas addition may not have the attention of Chiefs fans right now, but there are a couple of pieces of information that indicate he could break out for Kansas City this year in a similar way.

Firstly, some Cardinals outlets have called the Thomas trade a "surprise" due to the fact he was having a fantastic preseason. Thomas had 3 sacks in the preseason and flashed some refined pass-rush ability that wasn't seen through his first two seasons. Additionally, Thomas was seen rushing from the inside multiple times in preseason, which is something that Steve Spagnuolo, Joe Cullen, and the Chiefs staff greatly value among their defensive linemen.

Thomas is almost a bit of a poor man's George Karlaftis as he is not the most athletic or bendy pass rusher in the world, but he plays with a great motor and is considered an energy guy who can clean up in the backfield when the play breaks down for the offense. 

It's a little confusing as to why the Cardinals were so quick to move off of Thomas despite his apparent improvement to being one of the Cardinals' best defenders in the preseason, but there are always things that can go on behind the scenes that we don't know about that can influence the situation.

The statistics from his first two years don't jump off the page with Thomas, but Pro Football Focus' advanced metrics offer an encouraging sign for his development, showing that Thomas has earned a 13.4% pressure rate over his first two seasons. 

You can certainly work with a 13.4% pressure rate. That number would've ranked in the top half of Chiefs pass rushers in 2023. The hope would probably be that playing next to Chris Jones and George Karlaftis, Thomas will have the opportunity to convert more of those pressures into sacks now that he is playing in a situation where there is much less pressure on just him to produce.

Many defensive linemen have taken a step forward under defensive line coach Joe Cullen since he's been in Kansas City and the unit has finished top five in sacks for the past two seasons. There is merit to the idea that Thomas can reach his ceiling under Cullen and staff and make a Mike Danna sort of leap where he goes from just a guy to someone that can play and become an eventual four or five-sacks-a-year type of player.

With Thomas being under team control for the next two years and coming into a low-pressure situation, the Chiefs can play him to his strengths as a situational pass rusher instead of a tweener outside linebacker like he was in Arizona. Consequently, we could see him blossom into more of what he was supposed to be coming out of college—perhaps sooner than most thought.