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Solomon Thomas; why is he so bad?


Kiwibrown

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I remember reading on this board that he might be better than Myles Garrett as a pro player, but thus far, Solomon Thomas has been huge disappointment as a pass rusher, not sure how he does against the run.

 

Interested to know what was missed on the scouting or what has gone wrong for him in his pro career. 

 

Thoughts.

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Like most NFL draft choices, he just hasn't lived up to his billing. The 49ers didn't do him any favors in his rookie year by playing him as an EDGE defender in 2017. In 2018 his sister committed suicide, which definitely didn't help his progression as a player. 49ers fired their defensive line coach after the 2018 season, and hired Kris Kocurek. It seemed to help Arik Armstead finally breakout, but Thomas still hasn't been that impressive and more of a role player with reduced snaps. He just isn't that good. Probably a bust. Whatever, it happens. 

Edited by PapaShogun
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Called his bust. 
 

He won with power in college. He was strong for college, but not NFL strong. 
 

He was a + athlete in college. Not + athlete for the NFL. 

 

He isn’t slippery as a pass rusher and doesn’t bend well. 
 

His run stopping ability, I’m guessing, isn’t bad. He was always a decent run defender. 

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1 hour ago, BleedTheClock said:

Called his bust. 
 

He won with power in college. He was strong for college, but not NFL strong. 
 

He was a + athlete in college. Not + athlete for the NFL. 

 

He isn’t slippery as a pass rusher and doesn’t bend well. 
 

His run stopping ability, I’m guessing, isn’t bad. He was always a decent run defender. 

Nope, very solid run defender, particularly on the edge. 

This is pretty much spot on across the board. He's a bad tweener. 

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TBH, I never saw anything super "twitchy" about his game in college to make me believe that he warranted the hype that he got coming out. IMO he always seemed like an ideal 5-Tech or 3-4 DE and someone who would be a pretty solid starter, but never a flashy/splash impact type that warranted a Top 5 selection. He's too small to be an inside DT and not twitchy/explosive enough to be a DE...at least not in a 4 man/even front.

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Just now, MWil23 said:

TBH, I never saw anything super "twitchy" about his game in college to make me believe that he warranted the hype that he got coming out. IMO he always seemed like an ideal 5-Tech or 3-4 DE and someone who would be a pretty solid starter, but never a flashy/splash impact type that warranted a Top 5 selection. He's too small to be an inside DT and not twitchy/explosive enough to be a DE...at least not in a 4 man/even front.

He may need to bulk a little, but his best fit at this point probably is 3-4 end. He doesn't have the pass rush ability that you probably want as a 3 tech, which is what niner fans were hoping for when he flamed out at edge

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1 minute ago, Forge said:

He may need to bulk a little, but his best fit at this point probably is 3-4 end. He doesn't have the pass rush ability that you probably want as a 3 tech, which is what niner fans were hoping for when he flamed out at edge

That's pretty much how I projected him coming out. Granted, I'm sure he probably has value on that DL on 1st/2nd down opposite Bosa against the run and in 1/1 situations, and then can move inside on 3rd down to rush, but that's not where he will excel. I wouldn't be surprised if he went to a team with an odd front if he did a little better, but I never personally saw a Top 5 pick or future Pro Bowler there. 

JMHO

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I think teams needed to do a better job determining what position he was going to be from the start. I think he was a tweener supreme, he has some elite athletic traits but never really had a true position, he was not quite lengthy enough for a 5 tech and slightly undersized to be a consistent 3 tech. I think he started out as a base 5 tech, and they eventually evolved to a even front and by then he lost his juice.

I think its more of a mental thing for him now, I think defining a position for him moving forward and a fresh start could do wonders for him because its not like he had a significant injury and lost any of his athleticism. I just think he needs a change of scenery and someone with a specific plan for him

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He needs to play primarily on the inside on passing situations. When Dee Ford and Ronald Blair were healthy in the beginning of the season, Thomas was almost primarily rushing from the inside and flashing every game. If he is going to be successful, whether it be in SF or anywhere else, a team will have to use him properly. But simply put, he's not explosive enough nor does he have the pass rush moves to be a good edge rusher. A little undersized to play full time inside. But it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he breaks out next year and has a really good season. LIS though, will need to rush majority of the time from the inside. That's his only chance to turn it around. 

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5 hours ago, MWil23 said:

TBH, I never saw anything super "twitchy" about his game in college to make me believe that he warranted the hype that he got coming out. IMO he always seemed like an ideal 5-Tech or 3-4 DE and someone who would be a pretty solid starter, but never a flashy/splash impact type that warranted a Top 5 selection. He's too small to be an inside DT and not twitchy/explosive enough to be a DE...at least not in a 4 man/even front.

You can tell twitch on a DE from the shuttle times and and the 10 yard split. Explosion you see in the jumps. Back in the day, Waldo, one of the Cheesehead forum, did a lot of research which has probably been archived. 

J

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He’s not terrible but he’s not been number 3 overall pick good. He’s had personal problems like someone else detailed and he has shown flashes. Maybe it’s just because there’s so many other guys you have to worry about or even try and double that he got free shots. I dunno. Out of Thomas, Armstead, Buckner, Bosa, Ford... he’d be the odd man out IMO for an extension/first to be cut...even the depth guys like Blair that weren’t first round picks I think they’d be more inclined to keep. 

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