2018 Mock Draft....Interesting Tidbit

So in the way too early mock draft linked below, I find it interesting that we have 2 guys listed, neither of which we took in the first round.

https://draftwire.usatoday.com/2017/04/30/2018-nfl-mock-draft-way-too-early-1st-round-projections/

Rudolph he has going ironically 11th overall.

11. Washington Redskins | Mason Rudolph | QB | OKLA ST

If Washington is picking this high, Kirk Cousins isn’t likely to be getting a long-term, bank-breaking extension. If that happens, they’ll need to find a young passer who can take them to the next level.

He then has our UDFA ILB Thomas going 13th overall. Again I find it funny he has him going to the Bengals. Problem kid at college going to a problem filled organization.

13. Cincinnati Bengals | Matthew Thomas | LB | Florida St

Thomas is exactly the kind of athletic, three-down playmaker the Bengals need at the heart of their defense.


Thomas has potential. Maybe he was not coached up at FSU the way he should have been, or maybe he had other issues, but this kid ALWAYS has had potential. Now reaching it, is another story.

 

I stated this in another thread pertaining to Derwin James' supposed lack of desire. That lack of desire was not from within. That lack of desire waa mainly due in part to Jimbo Fisher. Granted, great players know not just how to overcome adversity but endure the adversity itself as it intensifies. However, there are even exceptions to the rules for great players should external factors limit them from still performing at their maximum. Jimbo Fisher was that external factors as he ended up quitting on Florida State and only using his final season as nothing more than a solid foundation to further augment his capabilities to recruit players for his new home at Texas A&M.


Much like Derwin James, Matthew Thomas does not lack desire like so many make it out to be. What I have seen during these four preseason games is a player who needs experience and improved conditioning. Once that happens, Matthew is likely to be next in line to be another "Steelers Story" like Ramon Foster, B.J. Finney, Mike Hilton, Vince Williams and Roosevelt Nix before him.



Matthew Thomas has glimpses of "it". How the team will harness "it" is something many of us should be intently paying attention to this season.