NFL Draft Diamonds Scouting Report: Jafar Thomas, WR, Bethany College

NFL Draft Diamonds Scouting Report: Jafar Thomas, WR, Bethany College by National Scout Brandon Davis

• Name: Jafar Thomas
• Height: 6000
• Weight: 185 lbs.
• Position: WR
• Draft Class: 2019
• College: Bethany College (2013, 2017-2018), Nassau Community College (2015)
• Hometown: Irvington, NJ
• Projected 40 Yd Dash: 4.57 secs
• High School: East Orange HS

Games Watched: 2018 Highlights, 2017 Highlights

2018 Stats

(WR at Bethany College): 11 GP, 10 Att, 59 Yards, 70 Rec, 1,158 Yards, 15 TD, 1 Tackle, 16 KR, 330 Yards, 1,547 All-Purpose Yards

2017 Stats

(HB at Bethany College): 8 GP, 105 Att, 672 Yards, 4 TD, 7 Rec, 93 Yards, 1 TD, 765 All-Purpose Yards

2016 Stats (Bethany College): Redshirted

2015 Stats

(CB at Nassau Community College): 9 GP, 15 Tackles, 2 TFL, 3 Brup, 1 Rec, 16 Yards

2014 Stats:

DNP (Left for family issues)

2013 Stats

(HB/WR/CB at Bethany College): 11 GP, 88 Att, 480 Yards, 5 TD, 21 Rec, 263 Yards, 1 TD, 7 Tackles, 13 KR, 325 Yards, 1,068 All-Purpose Yards

Positives: Adequate height with good arm length. Shows decent foot speed from the LOS at the snap, uses quickness to gain inside leverage on in routes, middle screens, slants and posts. Uses quickness to gain outside leverage on fade routes. Show mental processing ability to find open holes in zone coverage while running his routes. Has good AA & field awareness to jump & fight for contested passes along the boundary & in the red zone, shows decent hand strength & uses his arm length to reach over defenders to haul in 50/50 balls. Uses field vision from his experience at HB to follow blockers to open space down field. Relies on a spin move & a stiff arm to break free from defenders. Is a versatile player that can line up at HB, WR, or at KR.

Negatives: Slightly undersized frame, shows very little burst from the LOS at the snap, has marginal strength against press coverage. Doesn’t show ability to stem in routes, slants and posts, tends to round off his cuts and doesn’t have much burst out of his breaks. Doesn’t create much separation against man coverage, jumps for balls on medium routes against zone coverage when it isn’t necessary to do so. Doesn’t show ability to box out defenders on contested passes along the boundary, tends to wait for the ball & catch it with his body instead of attacking it on deep passes once settled in the open hole in zone coverage. Doesn’t have breakaway speed once the ball is in his hands. Run blocking ability is a question. Level of competition (NAIA) is a concern.

Summary: A three-year player at Bethany College for then-head coach Manny Matsakis, and for current head coach Paul Hubbard. Played in 11 games in 2013 at HB, WR, CB and KR before leaving school in 2014 due to family issues. Returned in 2016 & redshirted after playing JUCO ball at Nassau Community College as a CB in 2015, and then played in 2017 as a HB, and in 2018 as a WR & KR. Overall, Thomas is an athlete that can be used in multiple ways on offense, but can be developed into a Z and/or slot WR at the next level in a scheme that utilizes short to intermediate routes. He has raw talent at the WR position despite playing the position full-time for one season, but needs to add weight to his frame, work on his route running skills & explosiveness to be effective against physical corners.

Projection: Free Agent/Pro Camp Player