The way ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper sees it, Andrew Thomas is about to become Tom Brady’s best friend.
During a teleconference Wednesday afternoon, Kiper doubled down on the projection he made during Tuesday’s Mock Draft, which has Thomas going to Tampa Bay with the 14th pick in the first round of next month’s NFL Draft.
“There's no Pro Day, so when you go back to film evaluation, how guys actually played, it is going to be very important this year. For Andrew Thomas, that helps him, and that’s why I have him right now at 14 to Tampa Bay; at worst, I think he goes to Miami at 18.”
Thomas wasn’t the only Bulldog whom Kiper fielded questions about during an hour-long session with reporters.
Kiper also offered his latest on running back D’Andre Swift and quarterback Jake Fromm, including a question as to whether or not the former Bulldog quarterback should have come out at all.
“That’s a tough one. There were reasons to stay, reasons to leave. Arm strength, you would hope would improve a little bit as a senior, but he wouldn’t have had the offensive line like he had this year, losing the two bookends,” Kiper said. “But you hope, getting to the NFL, the arm strength will improve. We saw there was evidence of a lack of big-time arm strength, but we know that was a problem at the combine, because he was having trouble making some of those throws.”
According to Kiper, it’s that question about the arm strength that makes Fromm a bit difficult to project.
“If you look at the quarterback list, the way it stacks up, he could be the seventh quarterback drafted, behind even Jalen Hurts from Oklahoma,” Kiper said. “That doesn’t mean he can’t play in the League, but his arm strength is a question.
“People want to know, is he going to be Aaron Murray, is he going to be Eric Zeier, is he going to be Andy Dalton, or is he going to be somewhere in between? That’s the big debate in these NFL Draft discussions in the quarterback room regarding who you take in the third round, which is what I expect for Fromm, whom I think is a third-round quarterback.”
Thomas, too, has room to grow. But unlike Fromm, Kiper said the two-time All-SEC standout is ready to make an immediate impact right now.
With NFL teams having canceled individual meetings due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), Kiper believes teams are starting to appreciate him even more.
“Andrew Thomas is a guy I think people are going back to the tape and they like what they see,” Kiper said. “You go back and you watch him, he plays a little high. Obviously, he’s got some technique work, but he’s a good football player. He keeps his frame between the defense and the quarterback, he slides, he has good feet, he’s got power in terms of run blocking.”
Kiper sees Swift as the most complete running back in the entire draft.
“The part with Swift is the completeness—as a runner, as a receiver, as a blocker, ball security, he comes out ahead of J.K. Dobbins and Jonathan Taylor,” Kiper said. “Dobbins and Taylor are your two best pure runners, but if you look at hands, Swift gets the edge over both; you look at ball security, Swift gets the edge over both.”
However, despite Swift’s attributes, when it comes to where the former Bulldog may go in the draft, that’s a bit of a question.
According to Kiper, there aren’t a lot of teams prioritizing running backs in the first round. Two of the possibilities: Tampa Bay at No. 14 and Miami, which holds the No. 18 and No. 26 picks, both need running backs.
But after that, Kiper fears other teams have higher priorities that could actually result in Swift slipping to the second round.
“The problem is, if you don’t go to Tampa or Miami, what other team is going to prioritize running backs to take D’Andre Swift?” Kiper said. “You know Swift is one of the best 20 players in the draft. Right now, on the big board for me, that’s 17. It’s just finding a fit for a running back where most teams are very well fortified at that position.”
