Skyler Thomas

● Tall, muscular athlete with long arms and tight bulk ● Adequate speed, especially when working top down ● Quick recognition skills when aligned near the line ● Uses length and physicality to sift through traffic ● Redirects surprisingly well for a high-cut athlete ● Plays well through contact in coverage without grabbing (zero flags in 2025) ● Senior captain; sets a great example with his practice habits (NFL scout: “Genuine kid. His teammates love him.”) ● Extensive special teams background (671 snaps, 17 tackles) ● Played in all 24 games the past two seasons

● Mediocre range from the post ● Savvy route runners can shake him and create spacing against his man coverage ● Lateral transitions in off coverage are a tad sticky ● Inconsistent making plays on the ball ● Willing tackler, but has inconsistent wrap-up technique, which leads to frustrating misses ● Too much lunging creates more difficult tackling angles ● Torn ACL in left knee during 2023 spring practices, which required surgery and sidelined him for 2023 season

A two-year starter at Oregon State, Thomas played field safety and nickel in former defensive coordinator Rod Chance’s scheme. He arrived as a cornerback before shifting to safety, and he overcame an ACL injury to become a productive starter as a junior and senior. 603 Back to table of contents -- 607 of 629 -- Thomas is a long, competitive athlete and has a well-rounded skill set. He is a physical run defender and is comfortable working from the box, where he plays through blocks and closes on the ball. He looks to punish as a tackler, rather than using sound tactics to finish. In coverage, he needs to do a better job with his spacing relationships but has a cornerback background and can match up with size down the seam, especially from zone. NFL scouts can’t talk about him without also mentioning how much he invested in his teammates and the program. Overall, Thomas is a good-sized athlete with aggressiveness to work off contact, but his staying power at the next level will depend on his ability to stay disciplined in coverage. His special teams skill set and experience will help him in the NFL.