Why Solomon Thomas has Value

I've called 49ers defensive end Solomon Thomas a bust, and still believe he is one. But, I will argue against myself today and make the counterargument of why Thomas is not a bust. Arguing against yourself enlarges your intellect and understanding of a situation by trying to take the other side. It's what people should do all the time.

Solomon Thomas didn't draft himself with the third pick. The 49ers did that.

It's not Thomas' fault that he performed well at the NFL Scouting Combine and convinced most of the league he would become an elite player. It's not his fault the 49ers drafted him instead of Patrick Mahomes, who recently signed the richest contract in NFL history.

The 49ers made that mistake. Other teams might have made it, too.

If the NFL could redo the 2017 NFL draft, Thomas probably would be no higher than a fourth-round pick. There's no shame in being a fourth rounder. There's also no pressure to perform and produce 10 sacks per season. If Thomas had been a fourth-rounder, perhaps he could have exceeded expectations.

Getting picked No. 3 essentially was a curse for Thomas. And getting picked by the 49ers didn't help, either.

When the 49ers took Thomas, they didn't quite know what they had in Arik Armstead. Kyle Shanahan had just become the head coach and didn't know Armstead well. Plus Armstead had just come off a season during which he missed eight games and recorded just 2.5 sacks. He didn't seem like a future star at the time.

Armstead and Thomas play the same position. In the base defense, they are defensive ends. And in the nickel defense, they're defensive tackles.

As it turns out, Armstead is far superior than Thomas -- Armstead was a first-round pick, too. And the 49ers learned how good Armstead was almost immediately during the 2017 training camp.

So Thomas hasn't had many opportunities to play defensive tackle in the nickel defense -- Armstead and DeForest Buckner took most of those snaps the past three seasons. And next season, Armstead and 2020 first-round pick Javon Kinlaw will take most of the reps inside.

Thomas has the strength and quickness to slip past guards and centers -- he just can't show that ability on the 49ers, because he's too far down the depth chart. On another team, he might record six or seven sacks per season as an interior pass rusher.

Thomas probably will get his opportunity to show just what he can do if he leaves the 49ers during free agency next year. And I expect he will leave, and have a respectable career somewhere else.