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Where Brandon Thomas WIns
Thomas's greatest asset is his natural power. It shows up the most in pass protection, where he shows HEAVY hands on contact and can knock DE's off balance immediately once he gets his hands inside their frames. He shows the ability to absorb in his lower body as well, as he can sink his hips, bend at the knees, and anchor/reset with ease vs bull rushes.
Thomas is not a Greg Robinson level of athlete, but he does have good enough functional movement skills to play OT. He is quick into his pass set and shows surprisingly quick feet in his kick-slide. He has the skill-set to stick at OT in the NFL. In terms of run blocking, Thomas is knows how to beat DE's to the edge to wall them off but also is consistent in executing reach blocks. He is fluid to the 2nd level and is very accurate in terms of aiming points vs moving LB's.
Where Brandon Thomas Needs To Improve
Thomas's biggest issue is he seems to overcompensate speed on the edge and thus oversets off the snap, way out wide. He let too many pass rushers beat him with inside moves and he does not have the COD ability to recover. When countered, he needs to work on replacing hand placement instead of leaning into block. As a run blocker, he really just needs to work on a consistent pad level. Overall he shows the athletic ability and strength/aggression to be effective.
Overall impression
Thomas certainly does not look the part of a starting caliber OT prospect on the hoof: He is short, pudgy, and has short arms, but his play says otherwise. I think as long as he gets some technique cleaned up at next level, he shows the tools to be a Quality OT or OG, wherever the team that drafts him wishes for him to play. He will likely have a "Redshirt" rookie year after a recent ACL injury, though.
Grade: 7.0, Day 2.