Stampede Blue
Having found success with Samuel Womack III, the Colts have turned their attention to another waived ex-49ers cornerback.
According to the ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Indianapolis Colts have claimed another former San Francisco 49ers cornerback off waivers.
Having previously claimed now starting cornerback Samuel Womack III, the Colts added Ambry Thomas also from the 49ers off the league’s waiver wire:
Originally a 2021 3rd round pick of San Francisco, the 6’0,” 190 pound cornerback (with 32 1/4” arms) has 79 tackles (61 solo), a tackle for loss, 2 interceptions, 12 passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery during 42 career games (11 starts).
The former Michigan standout had yet to appear in a game for the 49ers this season—having spent the 2024 season on injured reserve, and now recently released from the I.R. list.
Thomas doesn’t necessarily have the size and arm length that the Colts typically covet as their NFL cornerback prototype, but he does have elite speed (92nd percentile) and vertical jump (88th percentile) measurables:
While he didn’t appear in a game this year because of injury, Thomas received a pretty sound overall grade of +71.5 by PFF in 2023 during 15 games (6 starts), which included a coverage grade of +70.5.
Here’s his NFL.com draft scouting profile, coming out for the Wolverines in 2021:
“Feisty press-man cornerback who plays the role of nuisance underneath. Plays with good patience and feel for mirroring the release and gets hands on his target within the first five yards. Thomas tends to be physical in coverage, which sometimes leads to penalties. He’s a former high school receiver with natural tracking and ball skills. He does a solid job of crowding opponents down the field. He’s not as long or explosive as teams might like outside and might lack the twitch to handle certain slot receivers as a nickel. Thomas plays with above-average awareness and consistency, though, and he’s a very willing and capable tackler who can also play on special teams. His best fit could be as a future starting nickel back for a zone-heavy cover unit.”
Obviously, there’s a few buzz words that stand out: physicality, tracking, ball skills, willing/capable tackler, and ‘best fit for a zone-heavy cover unit.’
It’s not all that surprising to see the Colts take a flyer here, especially with how their season is wrapping up—realistically short of the playoffs.
It’s probably a prudent idea to take some flyers on younger players.
