NFL Draft Profile: Brayden Thomas, Defensive End, NDSU Bison

NFL Draft profile scouting report for NDSU DE Brayden Thomas

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#98
Pos: DE
Ht: 6026
Wt: 259
Hand: 948
Arm: 3148
Wing: 7718
40: 3148

Brayden Thomas
NDSU Bison

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One Liner:

Thomas is a small school power rusher that can disrupt pockets and set the edge from interior and edge alignments.

Pros:

Long limbs wth broad shoulders and big hands, Thomas shows impressive hand displacement, allowing him to work through pockets into the quarterback. His power is impressive as he can walk back both guards and tackles with ease repeatedly. Spent time as both a 3-technique and 4-technique during his college career. Straight line burst is evident, allowing him to flow to the boundary and set edges in the run game.

Cons:

Very little technical or athletic traits in his pass rush arsenal. Remotely wins on games or stunts that set him free, if not upfield bull rushes. Not very bendy or loose at the point of attack, and seldom works a move to free himself up. A two time transfer that did notv see a lot of acton against higher level competition.

Summary:

Thomas is a one trick pony defensive linemen, it just so happens that trick repedatlu works for him thanks to his play strength and motor. He will need to develop a litany of moves if he wants to spend time in the NFL, as his his lack of fluidity and power based pass rush won’t be enough to make repeated impact against expereinced offensive linemen.

Background:

Thomas is a North Dakota native, as he was born in Bismarck, where he attended Bismarck high school and was part of two state semifinal teams. Out of high school, Thomas attended the University of Mary before transferring to Minnesota State, earning All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference second team. Thomas then transferred to North Dakota State where he finished his career with the Bison earning AP All-American Third Team and an invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Grade:

UDFA

Quotes:

“The Pro day also opened eyes for Thomas and Babicz who played in postseason all-star games in front of scouts, however were not invited to the combine. Babicz was looking to put himself in the range to be picked while Thomas has been talked to about playing on the edge outside linebacker, fullback and tight end and now has some private workouts scheduled going forward.”

Nick Couzin KVRR.Com