Yeah because those grow om trees in that spot in the draft ROFL *patiently waits for someone to list 20 slapdicks that won't end up doin squat*

CP hates these type of guys. It's hilarious that they whined about Taint or Benn over Dex and Dex has had the more productive career.

Aside from the fact that Thomas is a true talent....anyone else think drafting the guy also served as an opportunity to stick it to Chip Kelly and the Iggles? Obviously none of us know if Kelly wanted to draft his former Oregon playmaker but its a comforting thought that Reid would hate his former team enough to hold a grudge. :D

Damn, this kid can flat out fly.

This team doesn't value #1 and #2 WRs the way we do.

Thomas plays alot faster then the 4.5 he ran, hell I don't even think it's fair to label him by that time either. He flat out flies. He was part of the Oregon track team too. Think he ran the 100 n 200.

Of course the fourth round pick is the most controversial. ****ing cp, I love it.

Well, to be fair, the 5th round pick has been universally applauded as one of the best picks in the entire draft. :)

and to think you guys are even comparing this kid to Dex... He is on another level when it comes to ability and explosiveness. He's alot more aware of where he is and others are at on the field then Dex... He's better the Dex already and he's only on a rookie contract while Dexter has to be paid a couple mil.

I literally jumped up. I wanted Murray back in 2012.

I'm not nearly as high on Murray as most. I think he'll make a nice, cheap backup though.

Great 5th round pick.

Thomas was the best player in NCAA 14 football game when I played it(and clowney)... It's weird though because our backup ILB Nico Johnson was the best player in NCAA 13

Looks like KC made certain (as much as you can be with an unproven rook) that if Jamaal ever fell to injury again, that there would be a Jamaal-type of weapon at the ready. I didn't pay much attention to DAT before the draft, but I must say, watching him now is extinguishing my displeasure over the decision.

First of all, I don't know why you'd ever have "displeasure" over a 4th round pick. They're almost always upside guys that might not even make the team. :)

But yeah, it's hard not to like his college production.

He'll play primarily WR on offense not HB.. he's McCluster's replacement of offense/special teams not Jamaal's :doh!:

Eagles picked right before us... They could have taken him had they wanted too, why get sporles2 when they have sproles?

You can't say what would happen if jamaal got hurt.

DJax = 5'10". 175lbs

DAT = 5'9". 174lbs

Dex only ran in the 4.3's in his dreams and was never as elusive... this kid is gonna be exciting to watch, cant wait, Reid will find all kinds of ways to use a little squirt like this.

I was just thinking this. Possible all out receiver conversion who can take backfield snaps as well. Bray to DAT write it down.

The slow 40 time at the combine isn't a good example of this guys speed. He ran the 100m in 10.31.. To put that in perspective Jamaal ran it in 10.23

To put it in perspective, the mother****er can fly!

Yeah that too. Just when he was drafted some idiots tried to compare his 40 time to McClusters.

And Thomas' cuts are just stupid. He loses no speed making them.. Looks a lot like McCoy's

Yup, Thomas easily looks like a 4.3 guy on the field. No way in hell he plays at a 4.5.

Yeah Thomas is a gadget guy but I guarantee you that he's absolutely faster than Sproles is and is at least as shifty and instinctive as a football player.

If Thomas goes out there and averages about 30 yards per return and explodes for big yardage on 3rd downs as a 4th receiver from the slot, no one is going to complain.

Percy Harvin is 1" and 8 lbs. heavier the the Mamba.

Steal of the draft.

Those bemoaning 'gadget' players haven't seen nearly enough of Sproles breaking it off in opponents' asses on the reg.

JFC it literally looks like Madden when this kid plays. He can change direction so fast with such ease.

Anyone who compares this kid to McCluster is a ****ing reerun.

I mean seriously. Is there a more explosive weapon in this entire draft than this kid? The kid is every bit as explosive and has every bit of playmaking ability as Odell Beckham Jr. or Brandin Cooks and we got him in round ****ing 4.

Simmah down nah!!

Half the board thinks we utterly wasted the draft, the other half thinks we picked up;

The best OLB in the entire draft [even though Clowney is looking to be the Andrew Luck of OLBs] and next Hall of Famer DT
The next Deion Sanders
The most explosive offensive weapon in the entire draft
The next generation's uber O-lineman
The best QB in the Draft

I'd say its more 75% positive - 25% neg, BL.

Most of us seem to have witnessed some kind of coherent plan in action, most of the "negatives" are people that are ALWAYS pissed no matter what happens.

Look at the long TD run that he had against Wisconsin at 3:05 of the 12 minute highlight reel. That's ridiculous speed.

My favorite thing about Thomas isn't just that he's fast, he's smart about how he runs. Just from watching his highlights alone you can tell that he has great vision and knows how to set up his blocks. He doesn't just run as fast as he can until he reaches the endzone, he controls his speed in order to allow his teammates to form a wall if there are any around him. He's a football player who happens to have track speed, not a track guy trying to play football.

I'm positive, I'm just not positive we drafted 3-4 of the best players in the entire draft and future HoFers.

It was supposedly one of the deepest drafts in history at WR. There was no better time to grab a receiver.

The displeasure would be from seeing other prospects still on the board that you would prefer to see the team select, is all.

I'm sure he will, but he could still be a nice plan B at RB to replace JC if JC were to miss time. That way, the O could still run smoothly in JC's unfortunate absence till he returns.

(if we prefer to not use so many screens and other pass routes for Knile)

So is this guy a RB gadget or a WR gadget in the NFL?

That dumbass Haley screwed around with McCluster as a RB/Gadget and wasted a year or 2 with it.

I was guessing he would see more snaps lining up wide as WR.. but not to be surprised to see him in the backfield from time to time.. and see a few fake or real hand-off reverses. Maybe some shotgun, 2 back sets where JC and DAT go out on wheel routes and whatnot to exploit mismatches.

And if we can continue to score 30+ per game, no one will be able to bitch.

Biggest difference, IMO, is that Reid actually knows what to do with Thomas. He's not going to take years to figure stuff out like Haley did.

Thomas has as much potential as Tavon Austin as a slot weapon in this league. If you watched Thomas play at all, you would see that he's a damn good receiver.

He has great concentration and, despite his small hands, can consistently snatch the ball out of the air away from his body. DAT, because of his natural abilities, is more than capable of getting open at the NFL level with more work there in training camp. He's not going to come down with every contested catch but he won't have to do that with the kind of separation that he's capable of creating with his quickness and explosiveness.

Reid is going to work magic with Thomas and Thomas is going to save us a roster spot because he can be an emergency RB as well as a slot WR.

Holy crap. Just watched that 32 minute video. Knew of him but hadn't seen him play. How did this guy last until the end of the fourth round?

Dude is first and foremost a football player. He runs like an old school tailback and catches like a polished receiver.

He appears to be proficient running inside and outside, just like Charles. His cuts are ridiculous and amazing how efficient they are. He's always moving forward and picking up positive yards. His acceleration shooting through a crease is eye-popping.

He breaks a ton of leg tackles and uses his blockers as well as anyone I've seen. It's obvious he's a really smart runner with the ball in his hands. If you block for this guy he's going to exploit the slightest of openings.

I encourage anyone who has a doubt about how good this kid is to just watch that 32 minute video. It made a believer out of me. I can't wait to see how Andy uses him and what he will mean to the offense.

Yup, he's as explosive as anyone in this league and has great football instincts and ability on top of that. He dropped to the 4th because he was banged up early in 2013 and only came back in limited capacity once he was healthy because Oregon had already moved on.

He was also never the full time starter in Oregon. While this can be seen as a positive in that he doesn't have much tread on his wheels. Oregon has always had a ton of weapons.

After watching that video I have no problem calling him a receiver. We drafted an explosive slot receiver with a huge upside, IMO.

Agreed. That was another side to the slide. Had Thomas spent more time as a WR than he did as a RB, he would be a much higher pick. Really untapped potential, IMO. He has as much upside as any slot WR in this draft. I'd compare him to Tavon Austin except Reid will actually know how to use DAT whereas St. Louis had no idea what to do with Thomas.

I asked this question earlier but I never saw if anybody commented on it or not.

What is it that makes DAT different from guys like Percy Harvin or Randall Cobb? The naysayers are quick to point to Dexter McCluster as somebody who was a tweener and comparable to DAT.

I have no clue what separates any of them, but in my totally uneducated opinion I would think Thomas is just as likely to be a weapon like Cobb or Harvin in the NFL as he is to be like Dexter McCluster. None of them are #1 WR's, but guys like Cobb and Harvin still offer a huge weapon on offense and a lot of versatility. Harvin, Cobb, and McCluster were all 1st or 2nd round picks while we got Thomas in the 4th. If he turns out to be anything close like Harvin and Cobb then it will have been a great value pick.

I'm sure it all has to do with his size.

Randall Cobb - 5'10" 192
Percy Harvin - 5'11" 184
Tavon Austin - 5'8" 176
De'Anthony Thomas - 5'9" 174

I don't think that should be a problem. Relative to their heights DAT isn't really that much smaller than any of these other guys. Sure he's short but I really don't think that matters too much for slot receivers. They aren't the guys who you throw jump balls to. They find holes in the zone or use their speed and route running to get open.

Also a fun comparison for me is DAT compared to Brandin Cooks. Sure Cooks put up huge numbers this year as a receiver so it's understandable that he would be drafted higher. But neither one is going to be a #1 WR in the NFL, both are slot type guys most likely. I think Thomas is a hell of a lot better value in the 4th round than Cooks was in round #1.

He seems to grasp the RB concept of waiting for his blockers, that's a good trait.

This was one of the first things I noticed. Usually quick runners like DAT feel they can out run defenses and have no patience. He has great vision and patience to let things develop. He even leads defenders into his blockers on occasion. Very good to see.

Agreed. Some people don't really pay attention to the football ability of the players we pick up. They are quick to find a negative comparison that is totally inaccurate that is also backed up with no reasoning besides "size".

"Better than Dex already?" Wow...The measurables don't really say that. Dex had a stellar college career as well... Dex was / is MUCH stronger, can jump much higher and is only .08 "slower." Im concerned about DAT's strength and durability. Hoping he can get stronger without compromising his speed. Shoot, I'm 5' 10" 180 lbs and can jump just as high and do more reps than he did at the combine...Course I can't run 4.4's or catch as well though...:doh!:

The real problem that most have with Dex, and rightfully so, was where he was drafted. Had he been drafted in the 4th too, most of the haters would feel differently about him.

I think this kid is a huge upgrade over Dex.

Potentially. Dex was a whipping boy here, but out produced the slapdicks CP wanted to draft.

Watch a Dex highlight video in college and you will be extremely impressed.


Speed looks a lot different from college to NFL. Let's hope for the best.

I agree, but I guess we'll know when he gets to touch the ball in pre-season.

Dex looked "shifty" in college. I dont think the two look much alike.

This kid might not be any better than McCluster, but he only cost us a 4th round pick and his salary will be under 500k.

If that were true of McCluster, I would have never hated him.

Yep.

If Thomas provides 50% of what Dex did last year, as a 4th round pick, it was a good pick.

If he matches or even exceeds Dex's production, it was a home run IMO.

I wasn't a big Dex fan but I think a lot of people here grossly undersold his contribution to the passing offense last year.

Exactly. Dex had a stellar college career. Like Ive said for years, the ONLY problem with Dex was that he was drafted in round 2. Had he been drafted in round 4, all the haters would stop hating,

Dont know what you've seen of Dex in college, but dude looked like he could flat out fly. Also looked very quick. Thats cuz he was...

I guess it depends on how much stock you put in the combine. He pretty much tanked it. I don't care as much about 40 time. I don't think you want him to be a pure straight line runner. But I'd expect a guy like this to at least crush the agility drills.

But it's worth a shot. Dex ended up being a really solid possession receiver. He wasn't the kind of catch and run guy we thought he would be. Thomas could be. But again, have to assume the combine wasn't a fluke.

Yep, watched the video myself, he will make an excellent slot receiver. His quick feet and cuts are what really stand out and his field vision, really sets up his blocks and then when he needs the speed, ZAP, he's gone. Makes the defenders look like they are running in slow motion. That return against Colorado was something else! Really excited about the way Coach will use him in this offense! Strikes quickly and deftly, appropriately named "The Black Mamba!":drool:

They listed DAT as a RB. Hope he can play in the slot

His combine 40-time was 4.58.

That's awful for a guy his size.

Welker's was 4.65. You can't rely too much on 40 times for these agility guys. McCluster had an outstanding 3 cone and was terrific in short yard sprints. McCluster was plenty quick. His problem was he doesn't make great decisions, lacks vision, and falls down too easily.

No No No . It's not about where they were drafted. It's about production period! This guy had better out perform McCluster or we have gone backwards !

His pro day was 4.3.

No, he ran a mid 4.4 at his pro day I thought?

4.3s
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Playmaker

According to Nfldraftscout.com, McCluster ran a 4.44 at his pro day.

that punt return against colorado almost reminds me of Dante Halls punt return against Denver in 03

Thomas ran a 4.3 at his pro day. He was upset that he ran a 4.5 at the combine stating he ran a 4.5 as a freshmen in high school and no way he ran that now. So he ran a 4.3 at his pro day.

Talking about Thomas.
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According to Sac.....they had similar production in college. LMAO

DAT is way more athletic, elusive, quick, fast, everything and all the above than Dex. Dex's build made people look at him and think wow he's probably a ninja lightning bug. Wrong. His hips are tight as **** which is odd for a guy of his stature. And the guy has as much athletic ability as the above average weekend warrior you see at the YMCA playing a pickup game. Dex never really was an impressive athlete, or for that matter, football player. He wasn't blessed with the gifts that DAT has. He's gonna be great for us.

DAT is a homerun hitter every time he touches the ball.

McCluster would spend tons of energy running east and west.

From an article comparing Thomas to DeSean Jackson:

You rarely hear anyone complain about DeSean's size. Let's see Thomas on the field before we label him DMC v2.0

DMC is a trash WR compared to this kid. He will light shit up in space.

Lasers don't lie.

Stop watches do.

Dude ran a 4.50.

Period.

End of story.

If he equals McClusters 2013 production, I'll be amazed.