As the No. 3 pick in last year’s NFL draft, Solomon Thomas came to the 49ers wrapped in high expectations.
Yet by November, 49ers general manager John Lynch already said he was hearing some people say Thomas was a disappointment and “should be a little more dynamic.”
“We knew it would be a process,” Lynch told Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “I mean, he’s a young kid that I think, physically, he’s going to grow in stature.”
Thomas had a fairly understated rookie season, with three sacks, a fumble recovery and 41 tackles over 12 games. Yet as the 49ers look toward the future, they’re confident Thomas will grow significantly over the next couple of seasons to a more impactful player on the defensive line.
So, too, does the analytic website Pro Football Focus.
Thomas was recently ranked No. 3 by William Moy of PFF on his list of the top 10 rookies of this past season who figure to improve markedly in Year 2.
Wrote Moy: “Solomon Thomas finished his rookie season ranked 92nd out of 106 qualified edge defenders in terms of overall grade, certainly not what you’re hoping for out of the third overall pick in the draft. The 49ers had a bit of a log-jam along the defensive line when they selected him in the first round and to alleviate that, they decided to play Thomas on the edge – lining him up outside of the offensive tackle – after he spent virtually all of 2015 and 2016 lining up as an interior defender for Stanford.
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“Despite the position change, Thomas still flashed some above-average play in run defense (his 79.3 run-defense grade ranked 45th) and he closed out the season on a relative high note, finishing two of his final three games with an overall grade of 70.0 (a number he passed just five times all season).
“With another year in his new position, it would be shocking if he doesn’t take a big step forward in Year 2.”
Thomas, certainly, is looking ahead to being more of a dynamic player in 2018.
“I know it’s going to take time,” he said at the end of the season. “It’s not going to be right away. I know it’s going to be a little bit, but I’m working my butt off to be the player I need to be.”
