The Baltimore Ravens brought in safety Earl Thomas this offseason. Partially because they needed a true free safety to upgrade over Eric Weddle and partially because the Cleveland Browns shocked the NFL world by trading with the New York Giants for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Whatever the reason, Baltimore got arguably the best safety in the league and bolstered what is arguably the best secondary in the NFL right now.
Thomas is a rangy safety that can cover a lot of ground quickly. He’s smart, has good instincts and has been around the league long enough to have seen quite a bit of what’ll be thrown his way. Because of that, Thomas is downright deadly when assisting in coverage. Despite playing in just four games last season, Thomas snagged three interceptions. Over the last four years (45 games played), Thomas has 12 interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
But Thomas isn’t just adept in coverage. As you can see from the video shot at Saturday’s fully-padded practice, Thomas brings the heat as a tackler too. Thomas put his helmet and shoulder right into the armpit of wide receiver Sean Modster, knocking him to the ground right as he caught a pass. Still, it looked as though Thomas actually went easy on his hit. Being that it’s early in training camp, it was the first padded practice and they play on the same team, Thomas likely wasn’t looking to completely destroy Modster on the play, though he certainly could have.
If that’s the type of play we can expect from Thomas this season, Baltimore’s hefty investment in him will pay off exponentially as opposing receivers hear his footsteps and drop passes.
