Thompson Tries To Convince the Scouts He's NFL Worthy

Anterio Thompson looked more than strong enough at Husky Pro Day, bench-pressing 225 pounds an effortless 30 times, which is a way to measure endurance rather than strength.

The former University of Washington defensive tackle moved well in the different agility drills.

Engage him in conversation, and Thompson came across as well spoken, very astute on any number of topics.

Yet the 6-foot-4, 310-pound player finds himself already sort of categorized -- he wasn't invited to the NFL Scouting Combine -- and feeling like his hand was forced in deciding what to do about his football future.

Thompson considered attempting to come back to the UW for another season and apparently had the blessing of the Husky coaching staff, but ultimately chose to pursue a pro football career because nothing was concrete in receiving an eligibility waiver.

"With how everything was going with the NCAA, with the all the guys around the country, it didn't seem like it was going to be a possibility," he said.

So Thompson is left to sell the NFL on himself, to show he deserves a chance somewhere.

Originally from Dubuque, Iowa, he played for four different schools over the past four years: Iowa Western Community College, Iowa, Western Michigan and the UW.

At the four-year level, he started a dozen games for the MAC school, two for the Huskies and none for the Hawkeyes.

In Montlake, he opened only the 2025 season opener against Colorado State and again against Illinois at midseason, and he shared this particular DT spot with Elinneus Davis, who was a nine-game starter and Bryce Butler, likewise a two-game starter.

Anterio Thompson (54), Bryce Butler (92) and Jacob Lane (48) wait for the next play for the Huskies. | Dave Sizer photo

He finished with more tackles than Davis and Butler, picking up 30 last season to their 29 and 19, respectively.

Yet the 6-foot-3, 317-pound Davis still has two seasons to play for the Huskies, which should make him a desirable NFL prospect when it's his time to enter the draft, and the 6-foot-4, 325-pound Butler has transferred and will close out his college career at Texas Tech.

The logical question posed by the scouts to Thompson is if you weren't a full-time starter on college ball's FBS level, what makes you think you can play in the NFL?

Anterio Thompson emerges from a pile after tackling Rutgers' Antwan Raymond. | Dave Sizer photo

Thompson pushes on, attempting to convince these watchful pro talent sleuths that he can be productive for them if given the chance while acknowledging he's still sort of a work in progress.

"I would say I definitely got a lot more to improve on," he said. "I really felt like I wanted to get that extra year just to fine tune some techniques and tools that I could definitely translate."