Brandon Thomas is a player that has started at tackle the last two years of his career, before playing left guard prior to that. Because of his below average height, it's become a popular opinion that he'd move inside to guard at the next level. Before I get into where he excels, and where he can improve, below is a chart of his combine measureables, compared to the average guards at the combine.
Metric Thomas Average OG At the Combine
Height 6'3 1/4 6'4.07"
Weight 317 314.52
Arm Length 34 3/4 33.55"
Bench Press 35 25.43
Vertical 29 27.54"
Broad Jump 98 inches 99.83
3 Cone Drill 8.13 7.84
20 yd Short Shuttle 4.83 4.78
Where He Excels
Excellent Upper Body Strength/Powerful Hands
Bends at the Knees, gets wide base in pass pro, also gets set quickly
Wins with Hand Placement
Quick Feet/Mover
The first thing you notice when watching Thomas is how strong he is up top. From when he re-anchors against power rushers, to when he jolts defenders when he gets his hands on them. He has strength in that regard that you can't teach.
Where He Needs to Be Coached up
Running his Feet on Contact
Absorbs contact First Too Much
Questionable Awareness
Susceptible to inside Moves
I noticed this far too often when watching Thomas. He leans, then turns his match-up into an upper strength contest, if you will. Instead of driving his feet on contact. This is why in the run game he's not considered a drive blocker, or a "mauler." This is coach-able, however.
Another issue I have with Thomas is that for a guy with long arms, too often he didn't initiate contact. Instead he'd absorb the hit. You won't see him get walked back into the quarterback, because of his ability to re-anchor, and then lock out the defender. But I do wonder if a bull rush type pass rusher will give him fits at the next level.
The last two can be tied together, and it's something I noticed at the Senior Bowl. It seems like when teams run stunts, or twists, or anything that's not normal up front, Thomas wouldn't pick it up quickly. When working to the second level, it also seemed like he would sometimes just forget to get a chip on the first defender because he was so worried about getting to that next level(I will say I give him the benefit of the doubt because Ohio State had a unique blocking scheme.)
I also noticed a few times he got beat to his inside. It seems like he was so intent on protecting his outside, it left him susceptible to the inside.
I wouldn't be surprised to see him selected in the last 1st round by the time the draft comes. He's powerful, technically sound for the most part, and is a good fit in today's pass happy NFL. If he can get a coach that can get him to play with better leg drive, this could be a very good player.
