Daniel Thomas (born July 1, 1998) is an American professional football safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn.
| No. 20 – Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 1, 1998 Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Robert E. Lee (Montgomery, Alabama) | ||||||||
| College: | Auburn (2016–2019) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2020 / round: 5 / pick: 157 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||
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Early life
editThomas grew up in Montgomery, Alabama and attended Robert E. Lee High School. As a senior, Thomas was named first-team All-Metro and second-team ASWA Class 7A all-state after recording 87 tackles, five tackles for loss and seven interceptions, including two interceptions returned for a touchdown, while returning three punts for touchdowns.[1] Rated a three-star recruit, Thomas was considering offers from Minnesota, Clemson, South Carolina, and North Carolina before signing with Auburn after receiving a late offer from the school on National Signing Day.[2]
College career
editThomas played in 11 games as a true freshman, recording 16 tackles and two interceptions. Both interceptions were against rival Alabama on November 26, 2016, starting in place of linebacker, Deshaun Davis, who suffered a knee sprain the week prior against Vanderbilt, becoming the first Auburn freshman with two turnovers in one game since 2009.[3] Thomas played safety and the nickel back, and linebacker positions as a sophomore, finishing the season with 35 tackles, two sacks, one interception and three passes defended.[4] Thomas became a starter going into his junior season and recorded 74 tackles with five passes defended, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a sack. Thomas is described as a "positionless" player, a short stocky defender with run stopping force and ball skills that led the Tigers to a successful 9-4 record.[5][6] Thomas recorded 74 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, one pass defended and one forced fumble as a senior.[7]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
215 lb (98 kg) |
31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.51 s | 1.53 s | 2.66 s | 4.20 s | 7.04 s | 37.0 in (0.94 m) |
10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) |
24 reps | |
| Sources:[8][9] | ||||||||||||
Thomas was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round with the 157th pick in the 2020 NFL draft.[10] Jacksonville previously acquired this selection by trading Calais Campbell to the Baltimore Ravens.[11] In Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded a touchdown on a blocked punt in the 39–29 loss.[12] In Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Thomas recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Ben Roethlisberger and made a 53-yard return during the 27–3 loss.[13] He was placed on injured reserve on November 24, 2020, with an arm injury.[14]
On March 8, 2024, Thomas signed a two-year contract extension with the Jaguars.[15]
References
edit- ^ Marcello, Brandon (February 3, 2016). "Defensive back Daniel Thomas snags late offer, commits to Auburn". AL.com. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Stevens, Matthew (February 3, 2016). "(UPDATED): 3-star DB Daniel Thomas signs with Auburn". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Stevens, Matthew (July 5, 2017). "Auburn's 'Roaring Twenties': No. 19 DB Daniel Thomas". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Green, Tom (August 15, 2018). "New Auburn starting safety Daniel Thomas out to 'prove everybody wrong'". AL.com. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ "Auburn safety Daniel Thomas ready to end career on high note". The Montgomery Advertiser. August 11, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Ferguson, Justin (February 15, 2019). "From signing day longshot to secondary stalwart: Auburn safety Daniel Thomas continues to prove doubters wrong". The Athletic. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Vitale, Josh (December 27, 2019). "Daniel Thomas' Auburn career comes full circle with bowl game vs. Minnesota". TimesDaily. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ "Daniel Thomas Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ "2020 NFL Draft Scout Daniel Thomas College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ Green, Tom (April 25, 2020). "Auburn's Daniel Thomas drafted by Jacksonville Jaguars in 5th round". AL.com. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ "2020 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars at Los Angeles Chargers – October 25th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars - November 22nd, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
- ^ "Josh Allen among three Jaguars defenders placed on IR". Big Cat Country. SB Nation. November 25, 2020.
- ^ Oehser, John (March 8, 2024). "Official: Jaguars Sign Contract Extension for Safety Daniel Thomas". Jaguars.com.