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Tuesday at the NFL Combine is the day for Defensive Backs, and with Jeremiah Attaochu injured, Jemea Thomas was Georgia Tech's only representative there to participate in workouts. Thomas started by measuring in at 5'9", and 192 pounds, with 10" hands (basically equivalent to having a frying pan on the end of each arm, especially in proportion to the rest of his body).
Jemea participated in four drills, the 40-Yard Dash, the Bench Press, the Broad Jump, and the Vertical Jump. Overall he did a nice job of showing teams his physical value to complement his instincts and playing abilities. Thomas ran the 40-Yard Dash in 4.52 seconds, which was middle of the pack among defensive backs, but on par with the likes of safeties Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama) and Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State).
Where Thomas was particularly impressive was in the bench press, when he lifted 225 pounds 19 times, tied for 8th among DB's and only 2 less than the overwhelmingly impressive and surefire Hall-of-Fame DE Jadeveon Clowney. Though Thomas is listed as a CB (he was 6th among CB's in bench press), he projects better as a safety despite his size. If listed as a safety, he would have tied for 3rd in the exercise in that position grouping.
Thomas' Broad Jump was 125 inches (let me repeat, he jumped 10 feet, 5 inches in a single bound), tied for ninth among DB's. The best in the group was 133 inches from Pierre Desir of Lindenwood, but only he and Keith McGill of Utah jumped more than 128 inches. In this area, Thomas was up there with the best of them.
Thomas jumped 37 inches in the Vertical Jump, good for 15th in the group, but only 4.5 inches behind leader Stanley Jean-Baptiste. (Another inch would have been top-10, an inch and a half would have been tied for 6th. It's a very close race for all of these guys in that category.)
Long story short, I don't think Thomas blew anyone away with athleticism, but he sure didn't disappoint either. A solid Combine performance I'd say, and I think he holds steady as a 5th-7th round guy. Personally, I'd like the Falcons to spend a 6th or 7th round pick on him -- I like him better than some of the folks in the secondary in Atlanta and think he could at least play a solid role for them immediately.
| Drill | Score | DB Ranking |
| 40-Yard Dash | 4.55 Seconds | T-24th |
| Bench Press | 19 Reps | 8th |
| Broad Jump | 125 Inches | 9th |
| Vertical Jump | 37 Inches | T-15th |
Would you want your team to take Jemea Thomas in the Draft? When would you look for them to do it?
