While perusing through random January mock NFL Drafts, we couldn’t help but notice one player absent from many of the projected first rounds. Georgia Tech wide receiver Demaryius Thomas didn’t make SI.com’s top 32, or Mel Kiper’s initial mock of draft season.
Just what is it that this guy lacks?
Thomas, the Yellow Jackets’ leading receiver in 2009, declared for the draft a year early after leading the ACC in receiving yards and averaging 25.1 yards per reception as a junior. He caught just 46 passes, but Georgia Tech only connected on 78 throws all season. Thomas accounted for nearly 60 percent of the school’s completions.
He also gained extensive blocking experience in coach Paul Johnson’s decidedly run-heavy offense, beat constant double teams, and averaged 19.49 yards per catch for his career as a three-year starter.
At 6-foot-3 and 229 pounds, Thomas resembles another Georgia Tech alum that has rapidly developed into one of the NFL’s elite receivers. We have a feeling that Thomas will be among the “late risers” leading up to draft day, and would be pretty surprised if he isn’t taken on day one.