Oklahoma EDGE R Mason Thomas 2026 NFL Draft

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00:00I just liked the consistency more than I saw with TJ Parker.

00:04I disagree with you 100%.

00:05The best get-off in this class is R. Mason Thomas.

00:10And he should have the best get-off because he's 240-something pounds, right?

00:13He should have the best get-off.

00:16Maybe if we're weighing for weights and all that type of stuff,

00:20yeah, it's a conversation point.

00:22This kid has the best bend in the class.

00:24He has a great first step, Joe.

00:26I've seen him cross face.

00:27I've seen him hit a club rip.

00:29I've seen him stab.

00:30I've seen him do everything from a pass-rush bag perspective.

00:35And here's the crazy part.

00:36He was hurt the previous year.

00:39He was hurt.

00:40So this is the maturation he had in one year of first major playing time in 2024,

00:46I thought was tremendous, man.

00:49Absolutely tremendous.

00:50There were plays where Oklahoma would put him inside reduced as an interior rusher,

00:54and you would think that he would just get washed because he's not that big.

00:56But he's got more strength in his lower half than you would think he does.

01:02He does not have long arms, so I do not think he's ever going to be a stellar run defender.

01:08But I am paying this kid to be a 10-plus sack-a-year guy on the NFL level

01:12because that's what I think he's going to be.

01:13This is the Shaq Barrett's type of profile to the NFL,

01:18and I would not be shocked if we're talking about a kid that eventually is a 12-15 sack-a-year type of guy.

01:24I think he has that type of upside as a pass rusher.

01:27And I, man, I'm just, every time I watch our Mason Thomas,

01:32because this is how you know I love him, Joe,

01:34every game he pops, every single one.

01:37We talked about how TJ Parker, some games just doesn't pop.

01:40It doesn't matter if you put on Alabama or you put on Vanderbilt

01:44or whoever the heck you put up.

01:45Any variations of it, number 32 in Oklahoma's uniform is going to pop tremendously.

01:53So, yeah, I'm in on our Mason Thomas.

01:54He is what people tried to make Mike Green.

01:58This is what Mike Green was supposed to be.

01:59This is our Mason Thomas.

02:01Well, I was going to say I think that this is what people wanted Jalen Walker to be

02:05because they're kind of similar, like smaller, sawed off, not a lot of great length.

02:10But he didn't have the instincts of a pass rusher that our Mason Thomas did.

02:16I would like to peel back the curtain a little bit.

02:18This was the text exchange that I had with Mr. Ryan Roberts over the weekend

02:23after I watched our Mason Thomas.

02:25Also, I'm all the F in an R. Mason Thomas.

02:28Just finished watching it.

02:29That was for me.

02:30You said good player.

02:33And then I said he's got COVID bend and he's pretty strong, just a little stumpy.

02:38That was me being a little mean.

02:40You said, yeah, he's probably not going to do much against the run,

02:42which was like you're clearly were screwing with me.

02:45And I said I was surprised by all the plays that he made.

02:48And then you went out of your way to point out that he was 6'2", 240 pounds.

02:53I was going to come in here and piss you off by bringing up R. Mason Thomas in my top six.

03:00And here you are, just to reiterate everything that you just said.

03:05It's hard to consistently win when you have the physical limitations, a guy like he does.

03:12And whenever we talk about a guy that's a physical outlier,

03:16you have to have aggressively compensating traits.

03:20The aggressively compensating traits that he has are play strength,

03:24understanding how to use his height as a weapon to play with great leverage against the run

03:28and to make plays against the line of scrimmage or at the line of scrimmage rather.

03:32And then the first step, just he is so quick off the ball.

03:34There were a bunch of reps where I always love like when I'm watching an address,

03:37you're pausing mid rush rep and seeing what their bend looks like.

03:42And it just happened play after play after play that he's got great bend

03:47and then he'd go on to finish just by ripping through the hands of a blocker

03:51and then completely throwing down like Peyton Thorne or something like that.

03:56I just finished putting together a cut up that I haven't posted yet for R. Mason Thomas.

04:00And as I rewatched it, I was like, man, I really like this kid.

04:03He should be a first rounder.

04:05I really believe that R. Mason Thomas and I'm kicking myself.

04:09I just put on a mock draft, didn't put him in the first three rounds

04:12and I'm pissed off at myself.

04:13The first three rounds?

04:14Oh, he's going.

04:15I hadn't watched him.

04:16The mock draft simulator that I was using did not have him very highly.

04:19He almost declared for the 2025 NFL draft and decided to go back to school.

04:25I think it was just the emphasis of like, hey, I am coming off an injury of 2023

04:31and I want to show that I can be back-to-back years of health

04:34and all that type of stuff.

04:35But yeah, man, he's fun.

04:37He's a really – I'll change the text thread, okay?

04:40I'm going to hit the edit button.

04:41He's a really, really good player, Joe.

04:43Yeah, you're screwing with me.

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