Chase Thomas UDFA [MERGED]
I think a scout said it best. Chase Thomas going UD was due to teams trying to hit homeruns late in the draft oppose to finding a guy who will make your roster for 10 years
I think that along with his slower than hoped/expected 40 time as well as how the coaches tried to use him at the Senior Bowl.
They tried to move him to OLBer in a 4-3 and it did not go well for him.
Here is a little blurb about this struggles:
Speaking of looking the part, no linebacker was as physically imposing as Chase Thomas (6-foot-3 1/8, 241 pounds). The outside linebacker practiced and played with a lot of effort, throwing around fellow linebackers in a tackle-shed drill, and that helped make up for a lack of burst and speed that a lot of high-profile outside linebackers tend to have. On Tuesday, Thomas was beaten a number of times on a quasi-race from a two-point stance to a tackling dummy. Ultimately, he seemed a half-step behind receivers in practice and a bit slower than his teammates in drills.
I think the term athlete is very hard to define. There are many people that get caught up in combine measurements. There are guys that can run great 40 times or jump through the ceiling, but are not the quickest or most versatile. Some of them can not track a ball in the air while running. Some of them can not read a play developing quickly enough to beat a ball carrier to the hole. I think some of the biggest attributes to being a good athlete really go unnoticed and get lumped into other attributes. Things like..
Body Control: Can the player bend and contort his body to adjust to how he is being blocked. Can he sequence moves to create an advantage in a short time frame. Can he move his body well while running in one direction and looking back for the ball.
Agility: How well can he change angle in pursuit. Can he sift through traffic while keeping his eyes on the ball.
Read and Reaction: How fast can he diagnose a play and how fast can he coordinate his body to respond. Most people call this "instincts", but I think that is just a fancy word used when a guy is really fast to the ball. Can he anticipate how a player is going to block him and adjust quickly.
Eye Hand Coordination: How fast can he get his hands up to bat a ball down. Can he keep his eyes up while engaging a blocker. Can he make the hard catch compared to the easy catch.
There are many people that say slow = not athletic. Drew Brees is not fast, but he is one of the best athletes on the field. It is funny that people will suddenly dismiss the importance of a 40 time when discussing QBs like Drew. Just for comparison Aaron Rodgers ran a 4.71, the same exact time that Alex Smith ran. Who do you think is the better running QB? That is not to say that a fast 40 time does not add to one athleticism, but it is a very shortsighted and simplistic way to measure ones athletic ability.
When looking at Chase I think he has great body control. He is able to adjust on the move. He also has the ability to keep his eyes on the play while engaged, so he is able to stay active throughout the play. I think he struggles to track the ball while running in another direction which is why he struggled to cover at the senior bowl. When discussing his ability based on his 40 time, I think Harrison is a good example as to why it is not a good baseline to use.