Solomon Thomas   ER/DE/DT   Stanford

TALENT
ROUND
1

STRENGTHS
Solomon has the natural lower body strength that allows him to burst off the line of scrimmage with surprise quickness and strength. He is like a magician, first you see him on the line of scrimmage and then you see him in the back field making a tackle, sack or disrupting a play. Solomon has decent change of direction skills to make plays behind the line of scrimmage and does an excellent job indentifying were the ball is so that he can make the play. He is big, strong, and athletic with the football intelligence to play more than one defensive line position in different defensive fronts. He is stout against the run with the lateral agility to stretch plays out so on passing downs he could play on the nose and stop any surprise running plays. It is amazing how easily he gets into the backfield with very little motion and effort. He comes off the line of scrimmage at a pad level that makes it hard to get a good punch on him by an offensive lineman. He has those loose shoulders slipping by double teams and his opponent in a now you see me, now you don’t fashion that creates frustration when blocking him. He flicks off running backs helping out blocking like he is flicking off lint from the shoulders of his best suit. Like I said Solomon is like a magician getting into the backfield of the offense to make plays.

CONCERNS
Solomon has to get into pro football shape. His physical stamina needs to be upgraded and I’m sure it will be as soon as he gets into NFL strength and conditioning program and not have to go to class. Until this happens if he gets over used in his first year he most likely will get injured. Those are the facts about players who actually go to class while they are in college.

BOTTOM LINE
The talent to become an impact defensive lineman is all there for all to see. Most student/athletes coming from Stanford have to spend more time on their physical stamina. You see… Stanford expects their student/athletes to go to class and get an education and this is the reason for their players having less time in the weight rooms. I know this is unique but there are still some universities that require this of their students. The positive aspect for the NFL team who selects Solomon is that there is still some physical upside to his game and that is a very scary thing to think about. Give Solomon time to gain the physical stamina he needs to improve and he should become a pro bowl defensive lineman. It seems obvious to me and it will be to you too, if you just turn on the film and watch him play.

Drew Boylhart  JAN.2017