FanPost

Rams 2023 draft prospects: Where will Tavion Thomas be picked?

If the 2022 season was a long, strange, confusing trip for Cam Akers with the Rams, then the entire meandering college career of Tavion Thomas is the 2022 version of Akers cranked up to 50. Some NFL prospects come with football character red flags. Tavion Thomas doesn't have a red flag, he needs a red banner.

Thomas did his best to pull a Terrell Owens impression in college, burning bridges everywhere he went. If we just focused on all the mysterious and vague off field issues he's had and the times he's butted heads with his different coaches, there would be no point in me writing a fanpost about him, because no team would even consider drafting him. The thing that keeps him on the radar as a pro prospect (even if just barely on the radar) is he's actually a fairly talented football player. If he could get his head on straight and not act like a unreliable loose cannon, he might have a chance at making it in the NFL. I'm generally very conservative when it comes to prospects who enter the draft carrying character baggage and I'm not optimistic that Thomas will show enough maturity to be a good pro. At some point, when team after team shows you the door, doesn't a person have to look in the mirror and realize that when the same stuff keeps happening over and over, maybe they are the source of the problem and it isn't everyone else?

Background

Name: Tavion Thomas, turns 23 in May, 5th year junior

Schools: Utah (2021 and 2022), Independence Community College (Kansas), Cincinnati, majored in criminology

Size: Listed 6'2'' tall, 221 pounds. Per NFLDraftBuzz 6'2'' and 238 pounds, 8 3/4'' hands, 32 1/4'' arms, 77 wingspan, 4.59 sec (40 time)

Thomas was a highly sought after 3 star recruit from Dayton, Ohio. Also did basketball and track in HS. He was an Ohio State fan and had offers from several big name schools, including OSU, Oklahoma, and Alabama. He verbally committed to OU, but poor academics derailed his dreams of going to a power program. Both OSU and OU wanted him to go to JUCO, but instead he went to Cincy to play for Luke Fickell.

At the start of his 2nd season at Cincy, for undisclosed reasons he was in the coach's doghouse. He wasn't even listed on the team's depth chart for the first game. Fickell said that the team was working through both on and off field issues with Thomas. As his role diminished and seemingly on the outs with the staff, Thomas entered the transfer portal, later saying that he expected big name schools to come calling, just like it had been in HS, but instead he received no interest. Thomas said that he fell into a depression.

He ended up transferring to ICC in 2020, one of the juco programs featured on the Netflix television series, "Last Chance U", but things didn't work out there either. ICC sent him home during the season for disciplinary reasons. Thomas went back to Dayton, where he was living out of his car.

In 2021, he played for Utah and had an astounding 21 rushing TDs on only 204 rushing attempts. He decided to stay in school to try to boost his draft stock, but instead things once again got messy in 2022. His aunt (who had raised him as a child) died just before the start of the season. In an interview, he alluded to the fact that his mom had to overcome adversity, but didn't give specifics. Shortly after his aunt's passing, he was unofficially suspended for the 1st half of a game, with the coach suggesting that there were issues with his "accountability". Later in the season, Utah had a critical victory over USC, but while the rest of the team was on the field together celebrating the win, Thomas took his jersey off and left the field. He didn't travel with the team for a subsequent road game, but returned to action and played in the next games. After saying that he suffered a toe injury, Thomas declared for the draft and left the team, skipping the final 3 games. Without him, Utah beat USC in the conference title game and will face Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

2021: 204-1,108-21 rushing, 5.4 average, 3 fumbles

2022: 142-687-7 rushing, 4.8 average, 2 fumbles

9 career fumbles on 476 carries, a fumble for every 53 attempts, which is a very poor rate. For his entire career at Utah and Cincy he only has a total of 10 career catches for 50 yards.

NFLDraftBuzz 205th overall prospect (late 6th rd), 20th RB. Pure power runner with excellent vision. Explodes off the line, exceptional quickness. Cut blocker in pass protection, not creative as a runner.

Shane Hallam, Draftcoutdown 28th ranked RB

Drafttek 26th RB, 303nd overall (UDFA)

ESPN not ranked

Strengths

Aggressive, violent, direct, downhill running style.

Thick build, mass and momentum are difficult to stop once he gets up to speed, a runaway locomotive.

Instincts to make quick, subtle cuts and weave his way through 2nd level trash in the middle of the field. Smooth operator.

Surprising elusiveness relative to his body weight and size. Good acceleration and agility relative to his size.

Fights hard for yards after contact. On one rush, hit near LOS, broke arm tackle, rammed defender 3 yards from LOS, stayed up, then stumbled backwards, gaining a total of 9 yards. Another attempt, broke arm tackle at LOS, banged through defender 6 yards downfield, spinning out of tackle and gaining 10 yards.

Pushes pile forward, throws some defenders off. Drags defenders forward for extra yardage.

Adequate technique catching short passes, can extend his hands away from body.

Sufficient effort and deception when carrying out play action fakes.

A TD machine at Utah, scoring TDs on 8% of his carries.

Has potential value as short yardage and GL back.

Weaknesses

Almost no lateral jump cut ability to escape defenders in the backfield or waiting for him at the LOS. Runs directly into penetrating defenders. A sitting duck on wide zone runs when the middle LB shoots the gap and attacks the hole, resulting in Thomas absorbing huge hits. On zone cutback run, his TE is beaten on his block and the RB can't jump to the side to evade the defender, just gets gobbled up.

Virtually no receiving production. Not trusted to pass block. Utah used a different RB for passing downs/3rd downs/2 minute drill situations who was very obviously a superior pass blocker and receiver. Doesn't always scan properly in pass pro. Unable to adjust to fast 2nd level blitzers who are crashing into the pocket.

No suddenness in his feet as route runner. Doesn't release into route quickly.

Inconsistent pad level. Sometimes he runs with good forward lean, other carries his pads drift too high, other times he ducks forward as if he's not even looking up and just drives forward into contact.

Loose handle on the ball, poor ball security. Small hands relative to his size. Frequently carries the ball in the wrong arm and doesn't switch it to the other hand. Doesn't tuck the ball tight to his chest. Even on plays that aren't official fumbles, the ball appears to nearly squirt out of his hands as Thomas is getting pulled to the ground, like he doesn't have a firm grip on the ball.

There can be a fine line between being a power RB and a slow and fat RB. Remember LenDale White from USC who played with Reggie Bush? Sometimes, Thomas looked too powerful for defenders to stop, but other runs I thought he looked like just a fat guy lacking in explosion, speed and athleticism.

Doesn't buy into the team concept. Comes across as a headcase, selfish, lacking in professionalism and maturity. The NFL is a business, playing in the NFL is a job. Coaches don't have much patience for players that need babysitting, especially ones who don't have star potential. Recall that part of Jeff Fisher's 7-9 BS speech to the Rams involved cutting a player in training camp who didn't follow team rules. If you are a marginal guy, one slip up and that's it, you're done.

Almost zero special teams value.

Draft Grade and Pro Comp

UDFA, LaGarrette Blount (2010 UDFA, Titans, Oregon)

Blount's first NFL team was Tennessee, coached by Jeff Fisher. He was waived by the Titans very early in his rookie season and claimed by the Bucs.

It is a shame Tavion Thomas didn't take full advantage of his athletic gifts, because there is something there. You can see why the big schools like Alabama were interested him as a high school recruit. I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole in the draft, because I don't think he's reliable. He fits the mold of the type of player who quickly washes out of the NFL. If a team brings him into camp, he's the definition of a "flyer", a shot in the dark, hoping that he can turn over a new leaf and somehow it will unlock his true football potential.