Can Washington LB Shaq Thompson Play Safety in the NFL?
Shaq Thompson was every #DraftTwitter WAG's secret crush. On Thursday, he stood them up.
A playmaker on offense and defense, the University of Washington standout was blessed with prototypical size for a safety, the hard-nosed physicality of an outside linebacker and the athleticism of a big-time tailback.
"He's a freak among freaks," one AFC executive told Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated.
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Winner of the Paul Hornung Award for the nation's most versatile player, Thompson seemed set to be one of the draft's most coveted talents. NFL observers everywhere couldn't wait for Thompson put on a show at the NFL Scouting Combine.
They're still waiting.
Thompson didn't just fail to electrify the Indianapolis crowd. It looked like his batteries were running low. He ran the 40-yard dash of a plodding power back at 4.64 seconds. He jumped like a two-down linebacker, leaping 33.5 inches up in the air and 117 inches along the ground.
Only his three-cone (6.99 seconds) and short shuttle (4.08 seconds) times revealed the athleticism of a defensive back.
"I was shocked by my time," Thompson wrote in a draft diary entry for USA Today. "I know I'm faster than a 4.6 — it's just the little errors that I had in the first 10 yards. That's what really messed me up."
Thompson vowed he'd set the record straight at Washington's pro day on April 2 and discussed his plan leading up to that date:
"I'll take a couple weeks off to get my legs back and get my body back healthy so I can get the full potential during my workouts. Then I'm going to work somewhere in Anaheim with my cousin, Peyton Thompson, to get ready for my pro day April 2. I'm going to do the 40 and the drills. I might do the shuttle, too.
"
An unusually big crowd of NFL execs gathered in Washington to see what Thompson and his Husky teammates could do. Just before the lights came up, CBS Sports' Rob Rang tweeted out a shocking development:
With Thompson standing on his disappointing combine numbers, there'd be no freak show after all. Worse, there'd be no redemption.
Washington's head coach, Chris Peterson, told Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel that Thompson's best position is "running back" but knows Thompson "doesn't want to do that."
Thompson hasn't been shy about saying so, either. His draft diary made it clear he sees his future on defense.
"I've just got to stand my ground really and keep telling everybody that I want to play defense, and especially the linebacker position," he told reporters at the combine. "I like to be up by the line of scrimmage. I feel like I'm physical enough. I'm not the biggest guy, but I have a lot of heart."
At 6'0", 228 pounds, Thompson's size is a major problem. He certainly isn't big enough to play 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL, as he often did in college. He fits much better as a 4-3 outside linebacker in the mold of Lavonte David.
In fact, Thompson compared himself to David at the combine, per Dane Brugler of CBS Sports.
However, Thompson measured an inch shorter and five pounds lighter than David did at the combine, and size is David's biggest weakness. Getting off blocks in the run game and beating offensive tackles as well as tight ends in the passing game are going to be major challenges for Thompson.
NFL draft legend Gil Brandt talked to two NFL teams that see Thompson as a strong safety:
Before the troubling combine numbers, NFL Media's Mike Mayock agreed, listing Thompson as his second-best available safety.
After the combine, Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller switched Thompson's projected position from outside linebacker to just plain linebacker, leaving teams to figure out where to put him. As it turns out, Peterson might have the ultimate answer.
"He's a safety that drops down like a linebacker," Peterson told Thamel.
Miller compared Thompson to Deone Bucannon, the versatile Arizona Cardinals strong safety who gets up near the line of scrimmage in the run game and covers athletic tight ends.
However, Bucannon cut a 4.49 40-yard dash at the 2014 combine, and the rest of his explosion numbers were among the best of the safety class.
Thompson's arguably a more natural, more instinctive player, though. He doesn't put up great test numbers like Bucannon did, but Thompson's technique and drill work do a better job of reflecting his sparkling film. That's what got evaluators like Mayock and Miller excited in the first place: what Thompson does on the field.
Here's a 2nd-and-4 against Oregon State where Thompson shows a little of what he can do:
Lining up as the deepest safety in off-man coverage against the slot receiver, Thompson backpedals at the snap to get even more depth.
When all three receivers run clear-out routes, though, Thompson slows up (hard to see on this film). The tailback releases on a delayed curl route, and Thompson immediately recognizes it:
By the time the pass is delivered and caught, Thompson's streaking back into the picture to make the play:
Not only does he beat the much closer linebacker to the ball-carrier, Thompson's pop drives him back a yard. While the linebacker whiffs, Thompson wraps up:
He wasn't able to save the first down, but his instincts and athleticism allowed him to recognize the play, act on that recognition and snuff it out.
Thompson's top-notch change of direction, which showed up in his outstanding three-cone and short shuttle times, lets him apply those instincts and get to the right place at the right time.
His other measureables may give teams pause, but when he plays, he looks like a cross between Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis—who was another safety/linebacker hybrid before a slew of injuries—and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso.
Whether he plays as a strong safety who comes up into the box on run downs, a 4-3 strong-side linebacker who'll need to bulk up a bit, a 3-4 inside linebacker who excels in coverage (like Alonso) or a roving hybrid like the Bandit in a college-style 3-3-5, Thompson is exactly the kind of versatile player NFL defenses need to combat today's highly multiple offenses.
With blocking tight ends and pulling guards leading the way for committees of tailbacks with different skills and styles, and athletic tight ends, running backs and receivers lining up all over the field in exotic formations and combinations, players like Thompson are more valuable—not less.
In today's NFL, every down is a passing situation and versatility is a must. Pure run-stuffing linebackers are a dying breed, and pure strong safeties are next on the endangered list.
Arguing over which square hole to hammer Thompson into is missing the point.
Thompson may not have the deep speed or all-around explosion to be an every-down safety, but he's the kind of safety a smart defensive coordinator won't ever take off the field.
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