Alabama safety Deionte Thompson, a potential first-round pick in the 2019 draft, has an injury and is unlikely to participate in the NFL combine this month.
According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Thompson had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his wrist. He’ll sit out the on-field workouts as he recovers from his surgery. Thompson will probably be in Indianapolis, but only available for interviews with teams, measurements and medical examinations.
Thompson is a player often selected in mock drafts for the Chiefs in the first round. He’s far from a sure thing to be drafted in the first round, however, and a strong combine performance certainly would have helped his stock. Now we’ll likely have to wait until Alabama’s pro day on March 19 to get a 40-yard dash time, but there’s no guarantee he’ll even be ready then.
If Thompson truly is a target of the Chiefs, this news could help them come draft day. Former Alabama safety Eddie Jackson had many similar questions to Thompson heading into the 2017 draft. He broke his leg and was unable to participate in the combine or his pro day. Ultimately he fell to the fourth round because of it.
