Drake Thomas is emerging as the missing piece in Seattle’s linebacker puzzle, giving the Seahawks the balance they’ve been chasing for years. DH
Everyone told Thomas he was too small. He’s turned that doubt into a starting role in the NFL.
Throughout his entire football career, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas has shrugged off doubts that he could play the position at a high level.
That starts with a trait completely out of Thomas’ control: his size. Thomas is just 5-foot-11, 228 pounds. His frame historically led to assumptions about whether Thomas could have success at every next step on his path to the NFL.
“Every level,” Thomas responded on Nov. 20 when asked about the frequency that evaluators questioned his size. “High school, you get college coaches, recruiters come in and tell you what you can and can’t do. You prove them wrong, and then you’re getting ready for the next step, and all you hear is the ‘He’s a good college player, but he’s not able to do it at the next level.’”
Thomas, 25, went undrafted out of NC State in 2023 after compiling 293 tackles, 46 tackles for loss, 19 sacks and four interceptions over his four-year college career. He was a Second Team All-ACC selection in 2022.
After being signed by the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent and waived after training camp, Thomas was claimed by the Seahawks while Pete Carroll was still the head coach. He suffered a season-ending knee injury as a rookie and began the 2024 training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
Thomas was mostly a special teams contributor last season in Mike Macdonald’s first season as the franchise’s head coach. Now, he’s starting — and thriving — at inside linebacker next to Ernest Jones IV when the latter is healthy.
“I feel like reflection is important. I try to live a life full of gratitude, and seeing everything that I’ve gone through … to get to this point, it helps me live a life of gratitude,” Thomas said. “I’m super grateful, I’m super blessed to be in the position I’m in.”
Battle through adversityEmpty heading
The knee injury Thomas suffered in 2023 took him out of football for about nine months. He was still a relative unknown on the roster after exclusively playing on special teams.
Now, however, Thomas is back to 100%, and it shows in his play on the field. There’s a ferocity that Thomas plays with, which matches Jones’ style, making the second level of Seattle’s defense particularly dangerous.
“Physically, I mean, I feel fine. The knee doesn’t create any issues for me,” Thomas said. “Initially, coming back, I feel like the biggest struggle was probably mentally trusting it again … There was a lot of times where I didn’t feel like myself on the field, and that was really frustrating.
“I had to fight really hard to get to the spot where I wanted to be and where I felt like myself and was playing with a lot of confidence again, like I had always done prior to that.”
An opportunistic riseEmpty heading
Linebacker has been a high-turnover position for Seattle the last few seasons.
Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks, the starters in 2023, both departed after the season. The Seahawks signed Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson to be their new duo in 2024, but both were either traded or released by midseason amid the Seahawks losing five of their final six games before the Week 10 bye.
Seattle acquired Jones from the Tennessee Titans — the team’s hopeful long-term anchor — and slotted rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight next to him. That duo was improved over the Baker and Dodson tandem, but more change came during the offseason.
During training camp, Knight’s position as a starter became less certain. Thomas began pushing for reps, and the two split snaps the first few weeks of the season.
Beginning in Week 4, Thomas overtook Knight for the starting role. By Week 6, he was seeing the majority of the snaps next to Jones. He now has the second-most tackles for loss (nine) among all inside linebackers and has totaled 58 tackles, four quarterback hits, three sacks, six pass deflections and a fumble recovery through Week 12.
After playing 41 defensive snaps in his first two NFL seasons, Thomas has played 502 this season alone. In Week 12, Thomas posted a team-high 10 tackles and one tackle for loss.
“Everything that I’ve been through to get to this point has just built me up and prepared me for the situation that I’m in now even more,” Thomas said.
The Seahawks’ linebacker room remains fluid, mostly due to injuries. Jones has missed two games, which has thrust Knight back into the lineup. Knight missed Seattle’s game against Tennessee with a concussion, putting practice squad elevation Patrick O’Connell next to Thomas as a starter. Thomas and O’Connell combined for 19 tackles.
When Jones is out, Thomas takes over the defense’s playcalling and communication. That’s how much trust Macdonald has placed in the former UDFA.
Still, regardless of all he’s been through, Thomas said he’s not focused on proving anyone wrong. But if he keeps playing at a high level, Thomas could be the long-term option next to Jones in the middle of the Seahawks’ defense.
