2017 NFL Draft Profile: Solomon Thomas

Solomon Thomas, Stanford
6-3, 273
Thomas was a three year player at Stanford, which included a redshirt season as a true freshman. Thomas was a top 25 recruit coming out of high school, and ended up at Stanford. He was named honorable mention All-PAC 12 as a rs freshman, and then was named first team All-American as a sophomore, and was named PAC-12 defensive player of the year.
As a freshman, he recorded 39 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks to go with five QB hurries.
As a sophomore, he finished with 62 tackles, 15 TFLs, eight sacks, and seven QB hurries.
The Good
Excellent frame for the position, and comes from a family of athletes.
Very aggressive player who has lined up across the line.
Very good hand work, uses combos to get out of  blocks quickly.
Uses excellent power/speed combo.
Strings moves together, and has solid body control moving from spot to spot.
Solid swim moves.
Already has mastered his spin move inside or out.
Will not glue himself to a blocker. Gets free and makes the play.
Rangy play maker. Can get all over the place in a hurry.
Plays very well in space.
The Bad
Only played two seasons of college football.
Tends to be maxed out on his current frame. May play smaller on next level.
Can play too upright, and his pads tend to stay lifted up rather than playing down.
Does not play as strong as he could. Needs more size and power.
Plays finesse at times rather than letting the violence rip.
Big, physical tackles can win battles against him.
Guesses too much and creates penalties.
Final Overview
Thomas started flying up the boards with an excellent game against North Carolina in the Sun Bowl, and he also had solid appearances in the post season that raised his stock. Again, I am not one to consider one game, or post season workouts, or for that matter, all star games. What you see on film is generally what you get. I still think that Thomas is a first round caliber player, but he has more work to do than anyone else earning a first round grade. He has only two yeas of major college football under his belt, and that has to be considered. Thomas will need to do some work on the next level, but with that said, there is no dismissing the fact that he has loads of potential, and could one day end up being considered as one of the better players to come out of this class.