Solomon Thomas to 49ers: Twitter Reacts as DE Is Selected in 2017 NFL Draft

After trading down one spot, the San Francisco 49ers selected Solomon Thomas with the third overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. 

With San Francisco's new regime of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch looking to build an identity, Thomas is the first key piece of that process. 

Thomas' decision to leave the Stanford Cardinal after his junior season and jump to the NFL was a case of striking while the iron is hot. His numbers from 2016 aren't overly impressive. He had 8.5 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss, up from 3.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss the year before.

Thomas left a lasting image in his final college game, though. He wreaked havoc on the North Carolina Tar Heels offensive line as the Cardinal won the Sun Bowl 25-23. His one sack and two tackles for loss don't tell the story of how dominant Thomas was throughout the victory.

Thomas was the first to get to Mitchell Trubisky—the No. 2 overall selection by the Chicago Bears—as the Tar Heels attempted a game-tying two-point conversion, courtesy of Stanford football's official Twitter account:

There is a question as to where Thomas' future lies in the pros.

He ran a 4.69-second 40-yard dash and 4.28 20-yard shuttle at the NFL Scouting Combine, so he has the speed to play on the edge. Most of his time at Stanford was spent on the interior of the line, though, and at 6'3" and 273 pounds, he'd be slightly undersized to play at defensive tackle.

Leaving that issue aside, Thomas is an extremely skilled defensive lineman. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller raved about his hands:

The Stanford star is arguably the second-best pass-rusher in the 2017 class behind Myles Garrett, and he's a more capable run defender than the Texas A&M defensive end.

Thomas' work could go unappreciated at times by fans since he may not collect a high volume of sacks—similar to Michael Bennett and Calais Campbell, who have combined for one double-digit-sack campaign in 17 NFL seasons.

Bennett and Campbell also have two Pro Bowls apiece to their name, and they're the eighth- and fifth-highest-paid defensive ends by average salary, per Spotrac.

The 49ers are in such a state that almost any rookie would represent an upgrade to their roster. Bolstering the defensive line wasn't San Francisco's biggest need going into the draft, but it makes sense.

When the 49ers were successful under former head coach Jim Harbaugh, they had one of the league's best defenses. Thomas' arrival signals a potential return to those days. He and DeForest Buckner should form a strong combination along the defensive line.