After letting Nick Cross sign with the Commanders, on a very reasonable deal, the Colts signed Juanyeh Thomas— a former UDFA from the Cowboys. Thomas played three years with the Cowboys and only started four games in that span.
I was shocked to see the Colts part ways with Nick Cross, especially after seeing what he signed for. I think the Colts like the safety class and believe they can replace him. But overall, it’s pretty shocking to see a player that they traded up for and developed, walk for pennies on the dollar.
That being said, I like the addition of Junayeah Thomas. It’s a great buy low option with some upside. I also think the Colts DB braintrust of Lou Anarumo, Chris Hewitt, and Jerome Henderson deserve some benefit of the doubt still. This certainly feels like a player they believe they can develop and outplay his contract.
NFL scouts and execs will tell you that safety can be one of the harder positions to scout. There can be an entire game where the ball doesn’t find them or there is lack of plays in a game to draw observations from.
From watching his film, it’s obvious that Juanyeh Thomas is an ultra competitive safety who’s played in some bad defenses. The common theme is that he truly plays to the sound of the whistle.
On this particular rep, you can also see him take a great angle to the ball to limit the damage once Josh Jacobs bounces the run outside.
Watch Thomas hold his disguise. He has a very tough assignment to match James Cook in the flat from the middle of the field. He does a nice job hanging with him, and then gets his eyes to the football. He also is apart of some of collateral damage from his teammate and takes a big shot.
This is one of the best plays I’ve seen from Thomas on tape. You can tell he studies a lot of film because he is diagnosing this play at the snap of the whistle. The way he fits this run, he basically has to make the play because he’s coming through the backdoor. If he misses this tackle there’s not enough bodies on the outside to make this play.
The Cardinals are telegraphing crack toss to the field here and Junayeh definitely knows it (as you can see from his tweet). He get’s lucky that he guessed right— but sometimes that’s where the best plays on a football field happen.
SAFETY POSITION OUTLOOK
Juanyeh Thomas is exactly the type of player I think the Colts should be taking a chance on. A player with intriguing movement skills and a high level of competitive toughness that could provide some upside in a new scheme.
That being said, I’d imagine the Colts will likely have an open competition at the position. They signed Jonathan Owens and still probably have some hope that Hunter Wholer can make the roster— given his performance in training camp last year.
When you consider how many needs the Colts have, it makes sense that safety is far down the priority list— at least in terms of resources committed. The Colts assembled a quality staff on defense that I still trust to develop that position. Safety is not a position that historically requiter premier assets in order to find premiere players, so I like the idea of starting fresh and holding a competition.
I also would not rule out the Colts drafting a safety in a class that has some intriguing options. The Colts, ever since Lou Anarumo has arrived in Indy, are very committed to making sure they are set at the DB position. They have been stubborn about making sure they are never short at the position.
I expect them to commit to adding depth, whether that be through a late day 3 pick or reasonable deals for veteran options, and see who sinks or swims.
Juanyeh Thomas, as of March 18th is certainly the favorite to start next to Cam Bynum— but we also have a long ways to go until we know that for certain.
See More:
