Could Devin Thomas be more suited for runningback?

[justice98]

Not too many 6'2" running backs running around.

[Horton_Predator48]

Trade DT for a 4th Round (Wishful Thanking) and move on. I would rather have Brandon Banks catching balls.

[HBnotBlades]

I've thought about this before. I've always argued that Devin Thomas should be treated like a pure athlete in the Josh Cribbs mold instead of a wide receiver. He's never been a successful route runner at any level, but has been great with the ball in his hands.

His running style on returns and after the catch reminds me a lot of Ricky Watters, who was Shanahan's running back on the 49ers 1994 Super Bowl team. They're about the same size, with Thomas being 5-10 lbs heavier. Both run fairly upright, but have good speed in the open field.

I don't really understand the arguments that he would get destroyed by linebackers. Thomas is pretty much the same size as Torain, but with more speed.

[Dan T.]

Thomas played some running back in high school, so all those who are dismissing this out of hand are wrong.

And HB, Josh Cribbs is a good analogy for how Thomas could be used...more of a hybrid than a pure WR.

[frankez99]

He's not agile enough and he doesn't have vision or patients.

To suggest he isn't fast enough is just plain stupid but speed isn't the most important thing for a RB.

Putting him at running back would turn him into a patient; let's buy the "get well" card now.

How about this, if he doesn't work out at WR or RB, could he be our new long snapper? How about center?

We must find a position for young Devin because obviously he is so talented that Shanny and the staff (that know 1000x more than us) are blinded by it and can't see it.

His niche is WR; he was raw coming out of college and he's still raw despite it being year three. I still have a glimmer of hope, but this is all on young Devin.

[Ruff Stuff]

What if you lined him up in the FB position? He can block, the throws are quick dump offs, and he gets decent YAC. I think that would be a pretty sweet 3rd down play. Idk, just an idea.

[Dan T.]

What if you lined him up in the FB position? He can block, the throws are quick dump offs, and he gets decent YAC. I think that would be a pretty sweet 3rd down play. Idk, just an idea.

How smart do you have to be to run that dump off play that Sellers gets 3 or 4 times a game? Give Thomas a couple of those a game...

[redskins55]

Eddie George type RB huh?

[maskedsuperstar]

Thomas has average speed with no skill to get separation.

Average speed? No, Thomas had a faster 40 time than DeSean Jackson at the combine. 4.32 his first run. One of the reasons why Vinny fell in love. Devin doesn't run the correct routes. And lets remember, he had a hard time seeing any playing time when Zorn was head coach.

[OuterBanksTarHeel]

Bottomline: Devin Thomas has elite size, speed, and elusiveness.

No he doesn't.

[Bantu]

Wow. What a thread. I'll join in.

Let's play him at punter and MLB. Sound good?

[Oldskool]

Devin Thomas' natural position seems to be waterboy.

[ouvan59]

He's not agile enough and he doesn't have vision or patients.

To suggest he isn't fast enough is just plain stupid but speed isn't the most important thing for a RB.

Just wondering, but how do you know he doesn't have the vision or patience? He seems to do fine with that on kick returns. The reason I think he would struggle at RB is because he doesn't run low enough to be effective between the tackles. Not a whole lot of 6'2" RBs out there.

[Enter Apotheosis]

This sounds like a good idea. He is 218 lbs, which makes him big enough to play runningback.

His height nullifies the advantage of being 218 pounds. Most taller RBs are injury prone and wind up having relatively short careers because their knees take a lot of punishment. The few that stick around for a while are usually very big, very strong guys (e.g., Steven Jackson @ 6'2" and 236 lbs). That's actually one of the major concerns with Ryan Torain as well and a big reason why he's only played in four games since he came into the league in 2008.

Just wondering, but how do you know he doesn't have the vision or patience? He seems to do fine with that on kick returns. The reason I think he would struggle at RB is because he doesn't run low enough to be effective between the tackles. Not a whole lot of 6'2" RBs out there.

DT doesn't show a lot of vision or patience on kick returns. He pretty much just follows the Rock Cartwright method: catch the ball and run straight ahead towards your blockers at top speed until you hit a wall and go down.

[HBnotBlades]

Not a whole lot of 6'2" RBs out there.

I agree with you about running between the tackles, but guys like OJ, Eric Dickerson. Adrian Peterson, Eddie George, Bo Jackson, Ricky Watters, John RIggins, etc. have done OK at 6'2" or taller. In fact, Ryan Torain, who we're counting on to carry the load, is nearly the exact same size as Thomas.

Not saying Thomas could be a good running back, that's a complete unknown because there's a lot more to it than being fast or 220 lbs, but it's silly to say he flat out couldn't do it.

[jflow78]

Okay, well, it's a one-cut system, so he only needs to be agile enough to make one cut and go. I think he's got enough agility for that. Sure, why not try him out at RB before giving up on him.

Of course, this will NEVER happen.

[Laxpunk2006]

I think he could take some snaps at RB as a way to get the ball in his hands but I don't believe he could hold up there over the long haul. I don't even want to imagine seeing him in pass protection.

[littleskins]

It's time, just put him on the field. Either he has it or he doesn't. We need someone to step up and be a legitimate Number 2. I personally haven't seen it, so why not give him a chance in the actual game.

[Oldskool]

I agree with you about running between the tackles, but guys like OJ, Eric Dickerson. Adrian Peterson, Eddie George, Bo Jackson, Ricky Watters, John RIggins, etc. have done OK at 6'2" or taller. In fact, Ryan Torain, who we're counting on to carry the load, is nearly the exact same size as Thomas.

Not saying Thomas could be a good running back, that's a complete unknown because there's a lot more to it than being fast or 220 lbs, but it's silly to say he flat out couldn't do it.

If he doesn't have patience to run routes correctly and accurately, there is zero chance that he's going to be patient enough to wait for the gap to open in a ZBS.