KC Chiefs 2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr.
The 2024 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the Kansas City Chiefs are seeking yet another quality haul from general manager Brett Veach.
In recent seasons, Veach and his staff have used the draft to bring in cost-controlled young talents to insulate a championship roster. The results speak for themselves, although windows can close quickly. Kansas City hopes that a good 2024 rookie class joining one of football's younger teams can keep the franchise in top competitive form.
With the draft on the horizon, Arrowhead Report is taking a look at prospects who could hear their names called in late April. Up next is LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Background
- Height: 6027
- Weight: 209
- Age: 21
- Relative Athletic Score: 9.82
- 2023: 68 receptions, 1,177 yards and 17 touchdowns
- Played three seasons at LSU
Where Thomas creates advantages
Thomas's athletic profile is one of the most intriguing in this entire draft class, let alone at just the wide receiver position. He's a tantalizing jump ball and/or deep threat, as he boasts good length blended with good timing on his leaps. Additionally, Thomas is competitive at the catch point and has strong hands when he goes up for the ball. Those hands are mostly dependable. His 17 touchdowns during his final collegiate season led the nation — a testament to his true breakout campaign.
Despite his size, Thomas doesn't have much rigidity in his game. His stop-start ability is plus, giving him nice yards-after-catch potential at the next level. His early meal ticket in the NFL should be winning in the red zone and creating plays within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. He seemed to have good long speed on tape, which was backed up by an awesome performance at the annual NFL Scouting Combine.
Where Thomas could be at a disadvantage
While Thomas is undoubtedly an enticing prospect, he lacks high-level nuance as a route runner. At LSU, he didn't run an expansive route tree and had few chances to showcase a ton of diversity with Malik Nabers occupying so much attention. Thomas shows flashes of varying tempo in his routes but needs consistency there. His routes get rounded off at times; that's hopefully a reflection of youth rather than a real lack of ability to sink and set ideally.
Thomas doesn't play like an alpha-dog wideout in all facets of the game. Throughout the rep, he doesn't always do well with hand fighting and sometimes plays smaller than he actually is. His ball tracking needs some work. His separation profile is spotty. One noticeable development on film was inconsistent concentration. Was that an effort issue or related to something else? Thomas's tape gave off faint shades of Pittsburgh Steelers wideout George Pickens (who has turned into a very quality NFL pass-catcher, for the record).
The verdict
The 2024 NFL Draft has a loaded receiver class. The top three of Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze and Malik Nabers is almost universally agreed upon, but there's a lot of variance beyond that. Adonai Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, Xavier Worthy, Thomas, Keon Coleman and perhaps another player or two are all in the discussion up and down the board. It's easy to see any of those players go in round one, which shows how talented the top couple of tiers are.
Thomas, in my estimation, is in the same general bucket as Coleman. Both players boast very intriguing athletic profiles and can attack defenses in similar fashions early on. They're also young and are brimming with upside, making them ideal developmental receivers for a team looking to solve for "X" in their offense.
Does any of that apply to the Chiefs? Given the addition of Hollywood Brown, Kansas City has two wideout positions filled but lacks a true X. Thomas projects as just that, making him a very interesting fit. While he still needs some work before reaching his potential, his breakout season at LSU put him squarely on the map as a first-round pick. He's tracking to not be available at No. 32 overall but if he is, Kansas City would be wise to at least consider adding him into the fold.
![Florida Gators wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (1) makes a one-handed catch for a first down during the first half against the Charlotte 49ers at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 23, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MjA1MDgzNzc1MTY2NTg4NTQ4/usatsi_22097456.jpg)
