Dallas City News

We continue our 2024 NFL Draft scouting reports, now reviewing players in the Dallas Cowboys rookie draft class. Today we look at seventh-round selection Nathan Thomas from Louisiana-Lafayette.

Nathan Thomas
OT
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
Senior
6’5”
332 lbs
Hand size- 10 3/4” (81%)
Arm Length- 33 3/4” (39%)
Wingspan- 83” (85%)

History:
Nathan Thomas played tight end in high school and was a two-star recruit. He redshirted his first year for Louisiana in 2019 and then in 2020 he played only three snaps due to the season being cut due to the pandemic

In 2021, Thomas finally got to the field, but not at tight end, as a left tackle. He played in nine games and a total of 218 snaps. He allowed six pressures and one sack on 103 passing sets. In 2022, Thomas played in all 13 games as the Ragin’ Cajuns starting left tackle. On 478 passing snaps he allowed 25 pressures and one sack.

In 2023, Thomas played in 12 games, he missed the team’s bowl game due to a knee injury. On 410 passing sets, he allowed 12 pressures and five sacks. His run blocking was much improved in his final year.

2023 Statistics:
765 Defensive snaps
410 Passing snaps
12 Pressures Allowed
5 Sacks Allowed
4 Penalties

NFL Combine/Pro Day:
10 Yard Split- 1.76s (67%)
40 Yard Dash- 5.19s (70%)
Vertical- 25” (15%)
Broad- 107” (70%)
Shuttle- 4.65s (70%) (P)
3C- 8.01s (26%) (P)

Awards:
N/A

Scorecard:
Overall- 68.2
Speed- 72
Acceleration- 72
Agility- 60
Strength- 71
Pass Blocking- 70
Run Blocking- 74
Discipline- 92

THE GOOD:

• His size and strength allows him to easily neutralize power rushers and bull rushes. Very solid anchor
• Has good hustle and aggression on run plays
• Very good grip strength
• Good burst off the snap
• Very good at reacting to stunts and is able to reposition rushers with good body control
• Only 22 years of age with plenty of room for development

THE BAD:

• Elusive pass rushers can break past him due to his vertical play style causing him to lean and play unbalanced
• A lot of running plays on the Louisiana offense means he hasn’t done much pass blocking, especially for a lineman that hasn’t played the position much
• Mirroring can be issue due to slow lateral speed
• Hand placement is off-target quite often
• Lacks experience

THE FIT:
Nathan Thomas’ transition from high school tight end to NFL offensive tackle is quite the story. Having not played the position much and spending two years in college not playing at all, there are plenty of questions on what the ceiling is for Thomas.

Footwork is a key coaching point for Thomas in pass protection as well as working on lateral speed to help with his ability to mirror and hold up against faster pass rushers. There are plenty of issue in his technique in both as a run blocker and pass blocker which stem mostly from playing too upright.

On the plus side, Thomas fits the mold as a developmental lineman who could be helped by a move to guard. He anchors well, takes on power with ease and has a mauler attitude. He has strong hands and an improved run blocking skill set. and the arrow is pointing up for Thomas. How far he can climb on a teams depth chart is dependent how quickly he can take coaching (especially if he moves to guard where he has never played) with such little experience as a pass blocker.

COMPARISON:-
Riley Reiff, New England Patriots

GRADE:
Sixth-round grade

CONSENSUS RANKING:
204th
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services)