Scouting Report: Earl Thomas, S, Texas

Ht: 5'10 Wt: 208 40: 4.35

Strengths: Tremendous athlete. Can cover space very quickly. Fast. Has great recovery speed. Is very quick, has good agility and acceleration. Very strong for a DB, 21 reps on the bench at the combine. Has elite instincts, knows how to read the QB's eyes. Ballhawk, makes INTs. He is good at reading receiver routes. Has very polished hip movement; quick and fluid. Great man to man coverage. Also can play zone as well. He will help out in the run game. Shows good ability to use his hands to disengage blockers. Good, physical tackler. Has ability to deliver big hits. Very productive career. Versatile; some say they think he can CB in the NFL. Said to be hard-working in practice and the weight room. Played against great talent. High ceiling and good amount of potential. Very consistent player overall.

Weaknesses: Small frame will scare teams. Occasionally he becomes a little too overaggressive. Needs to improve flowing to the football under control to avoid being juked out.

Summary: Earl Thomas is a safety who is not mentioned as much as Eric Berry of Tennessee or Taylor Mays of USC but trust me, his name belongs in the top safety discussion. Thomas is a natural playmaker. His instincts are extremely impressive. He is a ballhawking safety who can hit and cover. Thomas' main area of concern is his small frame. Some teams will shy away from him early in the draft because they are not sure if he can last long in the NFL with his frame. However, when I watch on Earl Thomas, I see a safety with great range and speed that allows him to cover the whole field. Combine that with his instincts and natural talent; and you've got a special athlete. Don't be surprised to hear his name called early in the 1st round.

Draft Projection: Top 10-15