Say hello to your newest Seahawks lineman, tackle Tyrus Thompson
The Seahawks lost one of their most improved players when left tackle George Fant went down with a torn ACL. What does newly signed Tyrus Thompson bring to the team?
Tyrus Thompson probably wasn’t the first guy on your list to take George Fant’s roster spot with the Seahawks. Notice, I wrote roster spot, not place. Thompson isn’t taking over as the starting left tackle. As I previously wrote, starting left tackles aren’t exactly plentiful in the NFL at any time. They certainly aren’t begging for work after the second preseason game. So Thompson probably isn’t a front-line talent. That’s okay. Let’s focus on what he can do, not what he can’t.
Let’s take a look at his NFL draft profile, shall we? He graded out at 5.38, so was projected as a backup or special teams player. The Minnesota Vikings drafted him in the sixth round in 2015. He wound up on injured reserve in September of the same year. From there Thompson bounced around four more teams. His most recent stint was with the Carolina Panthers , who signed him to the practice squad last November. Carolina waived his contract just eight days ago.
His draft profile read as follows:
"STRENGTHSHas NFL talent and athleticism. Is able to climb up to the second level and engage assignments. Effective wall-off blocker. Can change direction in pass protection and is able to adjust in space to get to moving targets. Light on his feet for a big guy. Has the feet and length to be a starting left tackle in the league. Has athleticism to recover when beaten in pass protection. Can move laterally and make tough blocks when needed."
I’m not listing the weaknesses. If he didn’t have weaknesses, he wouldn’t have drifted from team to team to team. I’d rather look at his positives.
Seattle Seahawks
Let’s look further back at our newest Seahawks lineman
Since Thompson has no regular season professional stats, let’s take a look at his college days. He enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in 2010 and was redshirted. He got into five games in 2011, and as a redshirt sophomore played in all 13 games with five starts. By his junior year Thompson was the starting left tackle for the Sooners. As a senior, he was named All Big 12 by the coaches, ESPN and FoxSportsSouth. He was named second team All Big 12 by AP and Athlon Sports.
So 12s, what the Seahawks have found is a player who was either the best or second best left tackle in the Big 12. That’s not too shabby. Let’s remember, George Fant was primarily considered a basketball player at one time. Fant was freakishly athletic for an offensive lineman, to be sure. That isn’t Thompson. He ran a 5.3 40 yard dash. Not quite as fast as Fant’s 4.83. But he did clear 29 reps to Fant’s 22, and should certainly have cleaner technique than the former power forward did when he first joined the Seahawks.
No, Thompson isn’t likely to blossom into a starter. He has an uphill climb to just make the 53 man roster. For now, that’s okay. He adds much needed depth and experience at tackle. His NFL draft report read in part, “Considered lazy and maddening to scouts, who question how much he loves the game…doesn’t play with the consistency or effort that NFL scouts want to see from him.”
Who knows? Maybe Tom Cable can work some magic and help Thompson develop into the NFL player the Seahawks need.