When I look at who Dave Gettleman has drafted in the past at the offensive tackle position, Thomas looks like that guy. Big, thick, long-armed and really physical. He is a really fun player to watch when he’s pissed off. He moves guys in to another zip code as a run blocker, he really gets after guys in space, and he finishes.
The issues here are two-fold. His effort isn’t consistent and that is the number one red flag. In the intense moments, big games…etc Thomas gets after it. But too many times throughout the past two seasons I saw a guy that simply tried to get by on talent. The second issue, he looks like a train wreck in pass protection at times. He struggles to reach his point against speed and he shows his numbers to the ground too often. While his power and reach can partially make up for it, he simply needs to get better there or he will get eaten alive by the top end pass rushers. I’ll end with this: Thomas at his absolute best is better than Wirfs and Wills. But do you want to gamble on his work ethic and lack of athletic ability?
