Diamond in the Rough Hopes to Shine for Cardinals

Xavier Thomas has all the opportunity to prove himself - and the Arizona Cardinals - right.

Arizona Cardinals 2024 NFL Draft pick Xavier Thomas (fifth round) during a news conference at the Dignity Health Arizona Cardinals Training Center on May 14, 2024, in Tempe. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- Arizona Cardinals rookie outside linebacker Xavier Thomas knew he was making the final 53 man roster well before roster cuts terrorized the league earlier this week.

"They had gave me the scoop a little bit earlier... this is what I knew I was capable of doing before I came to training camp. That was my mindset, to come in and make an immediate impact," Thomas told reporters.

"Never had a doubt in my mind that I was not gonna make the team."

Thomas - a fifth-round pick in this year's draft - entered training camp buried in Arizona's edge room, though an injury to top guy BJ Ojulari opened the path for other outside linebackers to step up.

Thomas did just that during the late stages of camp and Arizona's preseason schedule, showing a knack for reaching the quarterback and disrupting plays behind the line of scrimmage.

I think Arizona might have something here with Xavier Thomas pic.twitter.com/cfozcnVVnj

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) August 22, 2024

11 edge rushers were taken ahead of Thomas in the 2024 NFL Draft. His injury history and age saw his draft stock ultimately take a dip.

Fast-forward to present day, and now Thomas has went from a Day 3 pick to a potential contributor when Arizona packs their bags to battle the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.

Pressure? Spotlight? It's nothing new for a player who was one of high school football's top recruits before his tenure at Clemson.

"Regardless if they have expectations on you, or they don't have expectations on you, you've got to go out there and do what you have to do," said Thomas.

You can color Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon impressed with Thomas' body of work.

"Obviously you guys saw, he flashed in practice and games. I like where he's at. He has a skill set that's pretty unique. He can play on fourth down as well, that went into that decision [to keep him]. You look at the totality of the NFL - we wanted to make sure we kept him. He's got a bright future ahead if he keeps doing the things that he's been doing," Gannon told reporters.

"If you break it down to three things of that position - rush the quarterback, set a violent edge and drop in coverage, I thought he did a good job in all three of them. I thought that he continued to improve from his mistakes as we got going. Because, honestly, I thought he was a touch behind when we started camp with those other guys, and he just kept doing a good job of improving his game, making plays when plays were there for him to make. I like what he's doing right now. I like where he's at knowing that he's got a long way to go too, and he knows that."

In just a week, the Cardinals will buckle their chinstraps and get to work as road underdogs to begin the regular season.

Arizona will need unsuspecting players to rise to the occasion if they'll make the postseason much like they hope.

Thomas believes he can be one of those guys.

"I think the sky's the limit for me in regards to the opportunity I get."