De’Anthony Thomas spent his college game days as the fastest player on the field and the type of player that makes you hold your breath as he gets the ball. In the NFL he’ll likely still be the fastest player on the field and be just as exciting. Think of Devin Hester and how, early on in his career, whenever he was returning a kickoff or a punt you were sure it was going to the house. Thomas can carry that same sort of excitement.

In the NFL Thomas will most likely be used in the Darren Sproles role of catching passes out of the backfield, returns, and the occasional run. The coolest thing about Thomas is that with as small as he is, he packs a pretty mean stiff arm that’s fun to watch. Thomas has a tendency to try and kick his runs to the edge and with his speed you can’t blame him. This won’t work nearly as well in the NFL though due to players simply being faster.

Where his value lies is creating mismatches with his speed and in returning kicks at the next level. Thomas is the type of player that needs certain plays and packages created specifically from him as he won’t find too much success running out of an I formation. Not a goal-line back, not even a standard back, he’ll need to be used in space and this limits his value to an extent.

Thomas is a “weapon” on the field and will need to be used as one, not as a running-back. Pass-blocking will not be a strong suit for him as he’ll always need to go low on rushers due to his size. He does an excellent job catching passes away from his body and can be used as the occasional slot or fourth receiver in the NFL, similarly to how the Chiefs use Dexter McCluster. Look for Thomas to come off the board on the second day of the draft after teams have addressed more immediate needs.