A strong receiver class pushed Cody Thompson into undrafted territory, but in other draft classes a player like Thompson would be coveted in the late rounds. He’s quite talented as both a receiver and a multi-phase special teams player.
Thompson might not blow anyone away with his speed, but he’s a smart receiver who knows how to get open in tough situations. He has extremely strong hands, and often comes down with the football in contested catch situations.
He’s played in a ton of games for the Toledo Rockets, appearing in 56 total games over the course of five seasons with the team. A dominant 2016 season earned Thompson a school-record for receiving yards at Toledo, in addition to First-Team All-MAC honors.
Stats (via UTRockets.com):
2014: 13 games and four receptions for 32 yards.
2015: 12 games, 37 receptions, 825 yards and five touchdowns.
2016: 13 games, 64 receptions, 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns.
2017: 5 games, 28 receptions, 537 yards and 4 touchdowns. Suffered season-ending injury. Allowed medical redshirt.
2018: 13 games, 48 receptions, 647 yards and 10 touchdowns.
NFL Combine Results (via NFL.com)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 205 pounds
Hands: 9 3/8
40-yard dash: 4.57
20-yard dash: n/a
10-yard dash: n/a
225-pound bench: 19
Vertical jump: 38.5 inches
Broad jump: 119 inches
20-yard shuttle: 4.03
Three-cone drill: 6.87
Highlights
Fit with the Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs have a strong and recent history of developing undrafted free agent receivers. You look at every receiver currently on the 90-man roster, and beyond the Chiefs’ top three, not a single one of them were drafted.
Thompson has a chance to come in and be the next UDFA receiver to succeed with the Chiefs. He boasts tremendous versatility as both a receiver and a special teams player.
“(I’m) just a guy that’s versatile who can play inside and outside,” Thompson said in an interview with Chiefs reporter BJ Kissel. “I’ve been a guy my whole career that’s played a lot on special teams. I know how important that is at this level, and especially this organization. I mean they finished in the top-3 in the NFL for the last — I don’t know how many — years. It’s something that is really important, and something I think I can add some value to.”
Special teams is going to be Thompson’s route to the 53-man roster early-on in his Chiefs career. Receivers will likely have a hard time pushing out veteran players like Gehrig Dieter, Marcus Kemp, and Byron Pringle. If Thompson can show enough value on special teams, he surely has a skill set at the receiver position that is worth developing.
Chiefs’ undrafted free agents
| Position | Player | School | Article Release Date |
| WR | Jamal Custis | Syracuse | 5/27 |
| DE | Tim Ward | Old Dominion | 5/28 |
| RB | James Williams | Washington State | 5/29 |
| CB | Mark Fields | Clemson | 5/30 |
| WR | Cody Thompson | Toledo | 5/31 |
| CB | Jalin Burrell | New Mexico | 6/1 |
| LB | Gary Johnson | Texas | 6/2 |
| TE/FB | John Lovett | Princeton | 6/3 |
| OT | Dino Boyd | Cincinnati | 6/4 |
| WR | Felton Davis | Michigan State | 6/5 |
| LB | Darius Harris | Middle Tennessee | 6/6 |
| TE | Joe Fortson | Valdosta State | 6/7 |
| RB | Marcus Marshall | James Madison | 6/8 |
| QB | Kyle Shurmur | Vanderbilt | 6/9 |
| CB | Dakari Monroe | San Jose State | 6/10 |
| S | Andrew Soroh | Florida Atlantic | 6/11 |
| P | Jack Fox | Rice | 6/12 |
| CB | Herb Miller | Florida Atlantic | 6/13 |
