2026 NFL Scouting Report: R. Mason Thomas

Prospect Summary:

In his third season, Thomas had a breakout season and was one of the most dangerous pass rushers in the SEC. In 2024, he totaled nine sacks with one forced fumble, one pass batted, and 23 tackles. In 2025, Thomas had 26 tackles with 6.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass batted while missing some time with injuries.

As a pass rusher, Thomas is a nightmare for offensive tackles, and he has some serious rush ability. Thomas is lightning fast around the corner with an explosive burst off the ball. Thomas has the speed to blow by tackles, but also has a developed set of moves with some functional strength to show speed to power and use a rip move to get leverage. After his quick first step to get upfield, Thomas uses his hands and feet at the same time nicely with agility to redirect to the inside or sink his hips while running the loop on the outside. Thomas has a dangerous bending ability, and tall tackles can really struggle with him. He has a dangerous speed cut to the inside and a lightning spin move to fire past tackles. Thomas has excellent closing speed to eat up space in a blur. As a pro, Thomas has the potential to be a dangerous double-digit sack producer.

At his size, Thomas has limitations as a run defender, as he can get covered up and pushed around sometimes by offensive tackles. NFL offensive tackles are going to outweigh him by 50-80 pounds, so Thomas could have problems holding up as a three-down edge defender going against pro tackles. That is not surprising considering his lack of height, length, and weight. As a pro, he could get rotated out a fair amount in running situations, and he might end up being a designated pass rusher only.

In the 2026 NFL Draft, Thomas could be a late first-round or early second-round pick.