Stampede Blue
High Level Athlete. Has impressive speed, agility, bend, and burst combined with surprising upper body strength. Enables the finesse in his game to shine and the power in his game to take tackles off guard for a smaller Edge Rusher.
Pass Rush Variety. Thomas displays a variety of moves and paths to the QB on tape. His Speed to Power stands out first with a bull rush, followed by the Duck-Under (Ghost technique) counter if that doesn’t work initially. His spin move inside and outside is nice as well. He is able to use chops and rips well to gain separation from blockers, with some occasional swim moves as well.
Motor stands out, constantly driving his legs in bull rushes, playing with physicality in the run, and hustling in pursuit.
Plays with a natural low pad level and uses it to his advantage in pass and run plays, able to get under and around blockers.
Do you like undersized speed rushers with elite athleticism, bend, and a strong array of pass rush moves and counters? Many modern names come to mind with this archetype of pass rusher: Micah Parsons, Nik Bonitto, Haason Reddick, Will McDonald IV, Nolan Smith, Josh Uche; many of which I had very highly on my predraft boards (ask my college roommates how upset I was that Reddick went just 2 picks before the Colts in 2017, there is video evidence that haunts our group chat even now). Because for Colts fans this archetype brings one name to mind:
Former Alabama A&M Defensive End Robert Mathis, the Colts all time sack leader.
Call me sentimental, but I miss having an edge rusher who jumps off the line at the snap...
