Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!

6th round pick Jordan Thomas TE Miss State

Big tight end from Mississippi St. 6'5 265. Ran 4.74 in 40. I'm guessing good blocker. Jordan Thomas.

— John Hunter (@J_Hunter_1977) April 28, 2018


Oh Wow…Jordan Thomas has great feet, really quick. BIG. But he's an upside pick with a trap-door floor. I like taking the chance on upside but thought he might be a UDFA.

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) April 28, 2018


#Texans TE Jordan Thomas is another big pass catcher that likely will be more of a slot guy than a blocker. Size/Speed combo makes him a project with upside.

— Shane P. Hallam (@ShanePHallam) April 28, 2018


 
I was hoping to heck that this wasn't the Sooner's CB..........scared me since he would have been a home town boy from Klein.............:whew
 
This Thomas has been virtually injury free save for a minor leg injury that temporarily took him out of 1 game sustained last year. Of course, his play time to get injured has been relatively sparse.
 
ESPN: Thomas has a basketball background and an intriguing skill set. He was moved outside to receiver out of necessity in 2017, but the reality is he's an in-line tight end prospect. He has some splash plays on tape that draw you in, but there's not enough consistency to his game.

Rotoworld: Texans selected Mississippi State TE Jordan Thomas with the No. 211 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. Thomas (6’6/265) was a lightly-used tight end on the Bulldogs’ roster before wide receiver injuries forced him into 2017 action and Thomas capitalized for a career-best 22/263/12.0/3 receiving line. Exposed as a fourth-percentile SPARQ athlete at the Combine, Thomas is a long shot for an extended big-league career.

CBS Sports: (A-) Has above-average blocking ability. Imposing size. Flashed some receiving ability. Good prospect to take a flier on this late for Deshaun Watson. | Separation tight end with fluid movement skills at all levels of the field. Mostly reliable hands. Willing but lacking power as an in-line blocker. Yards-after-the-catch H-back type ideally suited for today's NFL.

SI: Scouting Report: He’s bordering on offensive tackle size (he played OT, as well as defensive end and basketball in junior college), and Thomas has some explosive athletic traits to go with it. He shows good burst at the snap, and has more speed than you’d expect from a man his size, capable of running away from defenders up the seam. He’s exceedingly raw as a receiver, and not a natural pass-catcher. He also could stand to be a little nastier as a blocker—he’ll steamroll small defensive backs, but too often plays high and struggles when picking on someone his own size. There are a lot of rough edges, but there aren’t many players this big who can move like Thomas can. That alone will keep him in the league for a few years at least.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jordan-thomas?id=32462018-0002-5600-4939-3aec43b4d65b

Draft Projection: Rounds 6-7

Overview
From a football standpoint, there isn't enough there to warrant a draft pick, but Thomas has rare size, speed and athletic traits and that might be enough to hear his name called on Day 3 of the draft. Thomas played outside for the Bulldogs this year, but those days are over. He'll need simpler routes as a tight end and has to be coached up on how best to utilize his frame to wall off defenders. A team could add Thomas with the idea of converting him to defensive end if it doesn't work out at tight end.

Strengths
  • Freaky size-speed combination
  • Big and athletic
  • Teams will be intrigued by his background which included junior college basketball and reps at not only tight end, but also defensive end and offensive tackle
  • Comes off the line of scrimmage with good forward lean and powerful drive into routes
  • May be too fast for some linebackers to handle down the field
  • Has size to plow through smaller defensive backs attempting to re-route him
  • Has size to overwhelm slot defenders on run plays
Weaknesses
  • Attention comes from physical traits and not football play
  • Has just 31 college catches
  • Unable to find clean releases against press coverage
  • Routes are a mess
  • Struggles getting in and out of breaks and patterns don't fool defenders
  • Fights the football with his hands
  • Lacks functional ball skills down the field
  • Hasn't learned to use his massive frame as a weapon yet

Sources Tell Us
"There is no way I would put my name on him to my boss. No way. I don't think he can be trusted on or off the field. You see flashes but I think that's all it is. Flashes." -- AFC team regional scout
 
mussop said:
Did you ever even watch Shannon Sharpe play ? Sharpe was selected to the All-Pro Team 4 times, played in eight Pro Bowls (1992–1998, 2001) and amassed over 1,000 receiving yards in three different seasons. Lol.
Click to expand...
Just being optimistic. There is always the chance though. I was a Broncos fan when Shannon Sharpe helped them win two Super Bowls and I can remember that when he came from Savannah State University and was drafted in the 7nth round he was never supposed to be anywhere near as good as he turned out. I know nothing about Jordan Thomas but it is not likely but possible that he could be a great player at his position.

I most likely jumped the gun but there is no harm in hoping for that type of greatness.

Most likely not anywhere near that level of greatness but I can imagine him being a solid contributor to our team.
 
Last edited:
Looking at his athletic profile 10% percentile for NFL TE's, he's got good straight line long speed, but he very little in the Change Of Direction ability based on his short shuttle and 3 cone, FWIW.
 
jradMIT said:
Looking at his athletic profile 10% percentile for NFL TE's, he's got good straight line long speed, but he very little in the Change Of Direction ability based on his short shuttle and 3 cone, FWIW.
Click to expand...

Where do you get the SPARQ results from?
 
steelbtexan said:
Where do you get the SPARQ results from?
Click to expand...
I read about SPARQ a while back. It was originally developed by Nike to follow the progress of high school players, then somehow got "adjust" to collegiate players......then again to NFL players. There are those that believe that this ranking may not be all that valid. Some even wonder it players wearing Nike gear may get a boost in their evaluations. :)
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I read about SPARQ a while back. It was originally developed by Nike to follow the progress of high school players, then somehow got "adjust" to collegiate players......then again to NFL players. There are those that believe that this ranking may not be all that valid. Some even wonder it players wearing Nike gear may get a boost in their evaluations. :)
Click to expand...

Sparq is a very big piece of the puzzle when it comes to certain positions.

DE/OLB to name 2.
 
steelbtexan said:
Sparq is a very big piece of the puzzle when it comes to certain positions.

DE/OLB to name 2.
Click to expand...


Yeah it matters in varying degrees, Edge, WR, DB, LT are positions that require a level of athleticism, QB, interior OL not nearly as much. One area I think is ST where you could use it possibly to find value. I am a believer in it as being a definite tool to use. For instance JJ scored off the charts 99%, Cole also measured in the high 90s, and low and behold guy is making incredible athletic plays off the bat, that INT comes to mind. I definitely think it’s a good measure of how a defensive player might be able to mirror in coverage or bend when they rush the passer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've toyed around with SPARQ some and it seems to me that the explosion events (vertical/broad jump, bench press) get way more weight in the scoring than the foot quickness events (shuttle, three cone).

There's nothing necessarily wrong with that but some positions require more or less of one than the other, so the score may not always reflect true athleticism for the position.
 
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
Texans just drafted the two best TEs on their roster.

Not sure how it shakes out but I’m happy with the TE position.
Click to expand...

They did it going outside the box too .

Atkins makes catching look easy and he ran a 4.4 out of HS and a 6.4 60 yd dash per Baseball America .

Thomas played WR at 6'6 260 so he's got that in his pocket .
 
Honoring Earl 34 said:
They did it going outside the box too .

Atkins makes catching look easy and he ran a 4.4 out of HS and a 6.4 60 yd dash per Baseball America .

Thomas played WR at 6'6 260 so he's got that in his pocket .
Click to expand...

Between Jordan Thomas and Jevoni Robinson hopefully one of the projects work out. I really want to see Robinson perform but can’t find any footage on him. His athletic measurables are insane 4.5 40 with a 40” vertical on a 6’7” 240 lb frame? I think we could use that if the clay can be molded.
 
TheRealJoker said:
Between Jordan Thomas and Jevoni Robinson hopefully one of the projects work out. I really want to see Robinson perform but can’t find any footage on him. His athletic measurables îare insane 4.5 40 with a 40” vertical on a 6’7” 240 lb frame? I think we could use that if the clay can be molded.
Click to expand...

I saw some basketball clips of jevoni. He’s really athletic.

Saw a video of him running a bunch of routes on air and he looked a little stiff/mechanical to me.

Means nothing though. Long shot just given the circumstances but to me he’s a complete unknown as far as how he’ll look in pads in a game.
 
so in Thomas we have either Shannon Sharpe for a 6th round pick or over paid a little for an UDFA whom if coaches wanted is not too much to risk. I'd prefer Sharpe but if he makes the roster...I'm good with that. Curious if he will get any looks on Dline. If he and Akins are best TEs, who stays among others? I'm thinking Griffin for his experience and relatively cheap cap $2.5 m?
 
Last edited:
badboy said:
so in Thomas we have either Shannon Sharpe for a 6th round pick or over paid a little for an UDFA whom if coaches wanted is not too much to risk. I'd prefer. Sharpe but if he makes the roster...I'm good with that. Curious if he will get any looks on Dline. If he and Akins are best TEs, who stays among others? I'm thinking Griffin for his experience and relatively cheap cap $2.5 m?
Click to expand...

I think we could replace every single one of our TEs and not lose much. Griffin has tenure but that's about it. Most of his career catches came 2 years ago. He's JAG that's injury prone.
 
PapaL said:
I think we could replace every single one of our TEs and not lose much. Griffin has tenure but that's about it. Most of his career catches came 2 years ago. He's JAG that's injury prone.
Click to expand...

Yep. There’s a reason Gaine would only go as far as calling Griffin a “contributing TE” in his press conference earlier this offseason after Fiedo retired.
 
badboy said:
so in Thomas we have either Shannon Sharpe for a 6th round pick or over paid a little for an UDFA whom if coaches wanted is not too much to risk. I'd prefer. Sharpe but if he makes the roster...I'm good with that. Curious if he will get any looks on Dline. If he and Akins are best TEs, who stays among others? I'm thinking Griffin for his experience and relatively cheap cap $2.5 m?
Click to expand...

I think they keep 4 TE's but only if Griffen has put his concussions/injuries behind him. To me, Akins and Anderson are the same kind of TE. Smaller, faster, receiving TE's that are not good at blocking and are more like a WR/TE hybrid than a true TE that can take on O-linemen and still catch. And, maybe this is what BOB is looking for in his "new offense." If it is a more wide open spread type of offense then maybe he will utilize Anderson and Akins more as WR's, which is pretty much what I think he did with Anderson last season anyway. Don't recall him lining up in a traditional TE spot at all but maybe he did and I just don't remember (Ahh those Senior moments!). Anyway, I think they might keep 4 of them with Akins and Anderson filling that WR type roll and Griffin and Thomas filling a more traditional TE roll, although both may only be adequate at blocking. JMO.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
Other than both being smaller than traditional TEs Anderson and Akin arent similar.
Click to expand...

Yep. I'm a big Anderson fan because his strengths remind me a lot of Owen Daniels, However OB's "system" doesn't seem to be a fit for a TE who is able to sniff out weak spots in zone coverage. So I actually don't think he makes the team. Akins looks more like a seam buster to me. The two have very different comfort styles of play.
 
Texas Jake said:
Agree. Akins is 250 lbs (which is 20 lbs more than Anderson) and much closer to prototypical TE height and weight. He is not considered a good blocker, but I wonder if he can improve in this area with good coaching and an NFL strength and conditioning program.
Click to expand...
The answer is yes, the coaches think so. Prior to the draft there was a statement, maybe by Gaine, that the club was looking not only for a TE with the receiving skills, but someone the organization thought had the right mental make-up and desire to develop their blocking skills. After the Senior Bowl, Akins was the player they wanted.
 
Number19 said:
The answer is yes, the coaches think so. Prior to the draft there was a statement, maybe by Gaine, that the club was looking not only for a TE with the receiving skills, but someone the organization thought had the right mental make-up and desire to develop their blocking skills. After the Senior Bowl, Akins was the player they wanted.
Click to expand...

Blocking can be improved with coaching, no doubt. But much of it is attitude. It's like being a safety. You need to enjoy hitting people. That part can't be coached. OD turned into a decent blocker best used running routes. That's what you can hope for.
 
I am eager to see how both these Jordans develop. They both are intriguing prospects and I could see both becoming productive players, especially with Watson at QB. Can't wait until TC and pre-season to see how their talent actually transfers to the field. It would sure be nice for TE to become an impact position for this team.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top