Darron Thomas to Draft
In a surprising move, Ducks junior quarterback Darron Thomas will skip his senior season and declare for the NFL Draft. Thomas has signed with Drew Rosenhaus, and he is the second star on the Ducks to try and join the NFL ranks. He broke a school record with 33 touchdown passes last season, and his career 8.8 adjusted yards per attempted is the 14th highest total in college football since the year 2000. He threw 66 touchdowns compared to just 17 picks in three seasons and averaged 8.1 yards per attempt in his college football career.
Despite some solid numbers, Thomas looks like a late round pick who should have stayed in school for another year. Right now, Thomas’s draft stock is quite low, because he is a spread offense quarterback on a team with a strong ground attack. Thomas should have realized that he needs one more year to hone his skills and give scouts more to work with. Darron Thomas could have stayed for a chance to win another prestigious bowl game, and staying was the more prudent option for him.
“I am ready to go,” Thomas told ESPN. “I left on a good note with the Rose Bowl. And I am ready to further my life.”
Backup quarterback Bryan Bennett is somebody who should should give Oregon a bright future, and the drop off between Bennett and Thomas isn’t enormous by any means. Thomas has hurt himself with this rash decision more than his loss hurts the Ducks football team.
With all this in mind, Thomas looks like a sixth or seventh rounder and a decent backup at the pro level. The wise decision would have been to stay in school, but we will wish him the best in the NFL and hope that his sudden decision to go to the draft is due to renewed interest in him. Either way, he was a star player for the Ducks for a few seasons and should be remembered as such. We will see Darron Thomas on the other side, and hopefully a few highlight reel plays will follow him.
Vote below to choose which quarterback should start for the Oregon Ducks next season, and you can also voice your opinion in the comments section.
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