Senior Bowl: 5 Fringe 1st Rounders Who Can Solidify Their Draft Status
By Hunter Haas
Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State Height: 6’5 Weight: 270 lbs
2021 Season Stats: (14 games)
71 total tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss
10 sacks and 1 forced fumble
Best Performance: (vs Nevada)
10 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
Best Traits: Strength, Pass Rush Moves, Production
-Strength: Cameron Thomas is unfathomably strong. He puts this on display when hunting the quarterback and ball carriers in the backfield. Thomas’ balance is very good at the point of contact and he never gets knocked off his path in pursuit. He is phenomenal at parlaying his strength into leverage by using elite technique and fundamentals. There are exceedingly few examples of Thomas getting beat in a hand fight with blockers.
-Pass Rush Moves: Thomas uses his strength in many ways, especially when ripping through blocks from long-armed offensive linemen. He is quick and decisive when committing to the rush, using sudden swim moves both outside and inside to great effect. Cameron has deceptive agility on the outside and it blends well with his brute strength. He sneaks up on you as a quarterback and you never know he’s coming until it is too late.
-Production: Production is not the end all be all when it comes to evaluating a prospects chances of success in the NFL. If the traits are clearly NFL caliber, it is easy to project eventual production for most scouts. The amazing thing about Cameron Thomas is that he has those traits in waves and the eye-popping production to go along with them. Thomas brought down the quarterback double-digit times this past season, all the while facing constant double (and even triple) teams.
What to Improve: Motor, Flexibility, Burst
-Motor: Thomas holds up well throughout the first half, rarely looking tired at any point during the first 30 minutes. He burns through so much energy in the opening frames that it sometimes catches up with him by the third quarter. This is due to his ambitions to make the stop on every play that he’s on the field. It will benefit Thomas greatly if he makes smarter use of his gas tank and conserves it for drives down the stretch.
-Flexibility: With how big Cameron is — not only weight wise but height as well — it feels nit-picky to point out his lack of elite bend. There are times, however, that Thomas can get caught standing upright which is a detriment to his attempts at securing the sack. Even just a minor adjustment in stance, along with a consistent effort to keep his pad levels low, will make this point moot.
-Burst: This echoes the concerns regarding fatigue, because early on in the game Thomas does well getting off the snap. However, as the game progresses, the stamina issues begin to rear their ugly head. Timing on the snap is inconsistent, which results in slow starts. As stated in both of the previous bullet points, conserving energy and remaining locked in will make it easier to move past these roadblocks.
NFL Ceiling: Chandler Jones